Viera :3: Whispers of Eternity
by Caligo Origuu
Summary: They stopped Time from ending, avoided the prophesy, and even managed to save the only other living Time Lord. Now the Doctor and Viera are off to find new adventures, never guessing what new friends and old enemies await. Season 5; 10th Doctor. On hiatus pending inspiration.
1. 11:1 River

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

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><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**The Mystery of River Song: "Graceful Fire" by Fox Amoore**

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><p>PART ELEVEN – THE TIME OF ANGELS<p>

Chapter One – River

The days that followed Rassillion's near-return were full of joy and deeply buried frustration for Viera. Her risky plan had worked; the Doctor's regeneration had been stopped. He remained the same man she'd met on Midnight, the man she'd fallen in love with.

Therein lay the frustration and no little embarrassment. He'd seen her soul: her hopes and dreams and ridiculous fantasies, her thoughts about love. Her thoughts about _him_. And he hadn't said a thing about it.

When she was calm enough to be honest with herself, Viera wasn't surprised. The Doctor might know her, but there was a lot she still didn't know about him. He had almost nine hundred years of history without her, a race she would never know and loss so great she could only imagine it. Perhaps most importantly, the Doctor had lost Rose for the second time only months before.

Viera knew for a fact that she was hardly the first companion, even aside from Rose, to get a crush on the Doctor. There was no reason to expect that the attraction might be returned. He'd kissed her because he was dying and because she'd kissed him first.

It hurt, truthfully, but Viera tried her best not to let it bother her. She tucked her unrequited feelings away in the corner of her heart and clung to their friendship instead. He was pretending the kiss had never happened, that he didn't know what she felt, and she wouldn't confront him. He was her best friend, her family, her home. She couldn't risk all that to push for a relationship he obviously didn't want.

Perhaps he was counting on that. Viera liked to think that he was at least a little bit afraid of losing her, of things getting so awkward or frustrated that she'd leave. She knew he loved her, as he loved every companion, no matter how brief their stay with him. That was enough. It would have to be enough.

She wasn't going anywhere.

Aside from the confusion of tremulous emotions, life was good. Without the weight of the prophesy on his shoulders, the Doctor was almost giddily happy. The shadows that had been haunting him since before Mars had vanished in the light of relief, at least for a while.

In his fine mood, the Doctor decided to take Viera to one of his favorite places: a museum. Honestly, Viera had never been particularly fond of history, but walking through the castle full of exhibits with the Doctor was fairly entertaining. He darted down the hallways, commenting on everything he recognized and all the errors.

"Wrong! Wrong! A bit right, mostly wrong," he declared, passing several displays. "I _love_ museums!"

Viera giggled at his enthusiasm. "I'm not sure I understand why bits of the past are so interesting when we could just go there," she admitted.

"Wrong! Very wrong! Ooooh, one of mine. Also one of mine," he observed tapping on the glass protecting some items on a pedestal.

She shook her head. "Is that what's so interesting? Seeing which bits survive?"

"Well… sort of," the Doctor said a bit sheepishly. Then something caught his eye and he was off again. "Oooh, now that's interesting."

"What is it?" Viera asked, stepping closer. An aged cube sat in a glass case, a circular hole where two of the sides would have been. Tiny symbols were etched into its top.

"It's from one of the old starliners. A Home Box."

"What's Home Box?"

"Like a black box on a plane, except it homes. Anything happens to the ship, the Home Box flies home with all the flight data."

Well, that sounded handy, but she still didn't understand why the Doctor found it so interesting. She raised an eyebrow and the Doctor explained.

"The writing, the graffiti, it's Old High Gallifreyan."

_Oh._ Viera studied the writing closer then turned her eyes to the Doctor, searching for excitement or sorrow. How would Gallifreyan end up on a starliner's Home Box? "Did you write it?"

"Nope," the Doctor replied, popping the 'p'. "Not me."

Viera decided he sounded a bit more grim than excited, but she didn't hear the wistfulness that was usually present when he talked about his people. "Who wrote it then? What's it say?"

The Doctor rocked back on his heels and made a face. "Hello, sweetie."

"What?" _What?_ _Sweetie?_ "Who calls you 'sweetie'?" she blurted before she could think better of it. There was jealousy bordering on outrage in her voice, and Viera blushed at its escape. It wasn't like she had any right to be jealous. She didn't have any claim on the Doctor beyond friendship.

Thankfully he more or less ignored her outburst. "Let's find out, shall we?" Viera rather thought he already knew, but he slid his screwdriver along the base of the glass and pulled it off, handing it to Viera. He grabbed the Home Box and alarms started going off. Viera dropped the casing and they both took off running.

"Why are we stealing it?" she asked as security guards called for them to halt. They scampered into the TARDIS and shut the doors safely behind them.

"Only way to figure out what's on it," the Doctor replied.

_Well not the __**only**__ way. I'm sure we could have convinced the museum curator that we had some sort of official job and needed to inspect the box, but I suppose that would have taken too long to suit him._

"Let's see if we can get the security playback working," he continued. He attached a few leads from the console to the box, adjusted a few dials and a video popped up on the screen. It was grainy, and just in black and white, but Viera could see quite clearly that the woman on the screen was beautiful. The woman lowered her sunglasses to wink at the camera, then the view shifted and the woman was facing a door.

"Do you know her?" Viera asked, trying to read the Doctor's expression. He waved the question aside without taking his eyes from the screen.

_"The party's over, Dr Song, yet you're still on board,"_ said a man's voice on the video.

"_Sorry, Alistair,"_ the woman stated, turning around. _"I needed to see what was in your vault. Do you all know what's down there? Any of you? Because I'll tell you something. This ship won't reach its destination."_

_ "Wait till she runs. Don't make it look like an execution," _the man ordered coldly.

The woman looked down at her watch, then glanced up at the screen, unconcerned. _"Triple-seven, five slash, three, four, nine by ten. Zero, twelve, slash, acorn. Oh, and I could do with an air corridor."_

The Doctor began typing furiously on the keyboard while Viera looked on in confusion. "What is she talking about? What are you doing?"

"Those are coordinates," the Doctor explained. His words were as hurried as his typing, but Viera couldn't tell whether it was pure frustration or worry lending him speed. "She's telling me where and when she is, because she is about to do something very stupid." The TARDIS shuddered into motion and they both gripped the console.

"_Like I said on the dance floor, you might want to find something to hang on to!"_ the woman warned. There was a beeping, a warning of explosives just before the door behind her was blown open and the woman was pulled out into empty space.

Well, it would have been empty if the TARDIS hadn't arrived just in time. The Doctor raced to the doors and threw them open. As the woman disappeared from the screen, she appeared in reality, falling in through the TARDIS doorway to land directly on top of the Doctor. They tumbled to the ground and stared at each other a moment. Viera fought another flare of jealousy, but it didn't do much good.

"You're always doing that," the woman chuckled.

"Doing what?" the Doctor asked, finally trying to nudge her off. They both stood and he straightened his jacket a bit nervously.

"Catching me." The woman stared out the door, watching the ship she'd just come from fly away. "We have to follow that ship."

"Right," the Doctor agreed. He darted back to the controls. The woman closed the doors and slipped out of her shoes before running after him. She'd flipped a few switches on the console before the Doctor noticed and tried to shoo her away.

"No, no, no. Stop touching that."

Dr Song rolled her eyes and stepped over to the screen, adjusting the dials. "They've gone into warp drive. We're losing them! Stay close!"

"I'm trying!" snapped the Doctor.

"We have the homing box, right? Doctor?" Viera asked. She felt oddly hesitate speaking up with the vivid new woman on board. A woman who knew at least something about flying the TARDIS. "Couldn't it tell us where the ship goes? Can't we take the short cut?"

The Doctor's frantic movements stilled. "Ah. Well. Yes. We could do that," he agreed a bit sheepishly. He moved over to the box, nudging Doctor Song out of the way.

"I'm Viera," she stated quietly when it became apparent that no one else was going to start the introductions. She offered her hand.

"Yes." Something shifted in the woman's eyes, but she grinned widely as she took Viera's hand. "River Song."

"Nice to meet you."

"Ah, here we are!" the Doctor declared a moment later. Then his tone grew a bit more subdued. "It crashed barely moments after you left. Best take a look." He threw the TARDIS into motion, making the short trip through space without needing to duck into the Time Vortex.

They landed with their usual noisy shudder, and River shook her head. "Why you insist on landing that way is beyond me," she muttered, fiddling with the dials for the screen.

The Doctor studied seriously a moment before pulling forth his usual enthusiasm. "Let's take a look! Allons-y!" He jogged towards the door, Viera on his heels. River protested.

"No, wait! Environment checks."

"Oh, yes, sorry! Quite right. Environment checks." He raised his eyebrows at Viera who hid a grin, then he stuck his head out the door. "Nice out."

"We're somewhere in the Garn Belt. There's an atmosphere. Early indications suggest-" River was saying.

"We're on Alfava Metraxis, the seventh planet of the Dundra System. Oxygen-rich atmosphere, toxins in the soft band, 11 hour day, and…" he ducked back out for a moment, "chances of rain later."

River narrowed her eyes at him, her hands finding her way to her hips. "You think you're _so_ clever."

The Doctor grinned cheekily and opened the door with a flourish. Viera stepped outside and stared. She barely heard River and the Doctor join her, never noticed the beach behind her or the sound of waves.

The ship had crashed straight down into the roof of an enormous stone building. Rubble and fragments of the ship were strewn everywhere. Twisted shafts of metal poked out of holes in the ship, like broken bones sticking out of skin. The wreckage was burning; huge columns of acrid black smoke billowed into the sky.

"That's awful," Viera muttered. The Doctor laid a hand on her shoulder, and she tore her eyes from the sight to glance back at him. Finally paying attention to her surroundings again, Viera noticed a distinct lack of sirens or shouting. "I don't hear anyone." The building did remind her a bit of the remnant of the Coliseum in Rome, a forgotten bit of civilization. The thought brought a wave of relief. Perhaps the damage wasn't as devastating as it looked. "Is this place abandoned?"

River shook her head, offering Viera a gentle smile. "Aplan temple. Unoccupied for centuries." She looked back at what was left of the ship. "What caused it to crash? Not me."

"Nah," the Doctor agreed. "The airlock would've sealed seconds after you blew it. According to the Home Box the warp engines had a phase-shift. No survivors."

Viera grimaced but clung to her relief that there at least hadn't been anyone in that building.

"A phase-shift would have to be sabotage," River mused. "I did warn them."

"About what?" the Doctor asked. River ignored him to type something into a little handheld device. "River. What did you warn them about?" His voice took on a slightly warning tone; it wasn't his dangerous tone exactly; it reminded Viera a little of a father warning his children not to push things too far.

River gave him a tolerant look just shy of rolling her eyes. "You're wrong, you know. There's one survivor. There's a thing in the belly of that ship that can't ever die." Then ignoring their suddenly doubled interest, she brought her device up to her ear like a phone. "You lot in orbit yet?" she asked whoever was on the other end as she began wandering closer to the wreckage.

"_Can't_ die?" Viera asked worriedly. "How many things in the universe _can't_ die?"

"Lots of things are hard to kill or have to be killed a certain way and that makes people _think_ they can't die," the Doctor mused, though he looked quite dissatisfied with that explanation. He ran a hand through his messy hair absently. "She seems like she should know the difference though. There are very few things in this universe that can't die, and I don't particularly want to get involved with any of them."

"Doctor!" River called from a short distance away. They looked up to see her waving her device in the air. "Can you sonic me? I need to boost the signal so we can use it as a beacon."

The Doctor's lips pressed together in irritation, but he aimed the sonic screwdriver her way obligingly. River gave a brief curtsy and wandered back towards them. She pulled out a worn, blue book that had been tucked into the back of her sash and started flipping through the tattered pages.

"We have a minute. Shall we? Where were we up to? Have we done the Bone Meadows?" River asked. The Doctor was eyeing the book with an odd mix of intrigue, rebellion, and something that wasn't quite disgust.

"What is that?" Viera asked, more curious about his expression than the actual presence of the book.

"Leave it alone," said the Doctor.

"What is it?" she repeated.

"Her diary."

"Our diary," River corrected.

The Doctor's expression tightened and Viera felt her own become somewhat appalled. "Her past, my… future," he explained with great reluctance. "We keep meeting in the wrong order."

_And me?_ Viera wondered. _Am I in there?_

The sound of rushing wind dragged her attention away from the deceptively innocent-looking journal. Four narrow whirlwinds were dragging dust into the air. Viera didn't even have time to question it. The odd phenomenon ended as quickly as it had started, leaving four men standing where the dust devils had been.

They were armed and wearing pale uniforms that matched the dry stone and sand around them. Soldiers, clearly. _What have we gotten ourselves into this time?_

One of the men approached, sweeping a dubious gaze over the Doctor and Viera, apparently finding them lacking. He frowned at River.

"You promised me an army, Doctor Song."

"No. I promised you the equivalent of an army," River corrected, unconcerned. "This is the Doctor, and his companion, Viera." There was the briefest of hesitations when she introduced Viera, but the younger woman was rather more concerned that this was something the soldier thought they needed an army for.

"Hello," the Doctor greeted cheerfully. Viera gave a hesitant smile as the soldier offered his hand.

"Father Octavian, sir. Bishop, second class. 20 clerics at my command," the soldier explained.

_Bishop? Clerics? When did the church get an army?_ Viera wondered, struggling to keep her discomfort from her expression. Armies and religion brought to mind the Crusades. She was loyal to her faith, but mixing weapons with religion could be such a dangerous thing. Aside from perhaps back in the Old Testament, when had that ever been a good thing?

It was completely possible that the Bishop was a good, faithful man who actually listened to God, or even that the word "bishop" no longer meant what it used to, but it still made her a little wary of how those soldiers might reflect on her religion.

"The troops are already in the drop ship and landing shortly. Doctor Song was helping us with a covert investigation. Has Doctor Song explained what we're dealing with?"

"Doctor," River Song said slowly. "What do you know of the Weeping Angels?"

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><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is the third story in Viera's series, so it'll probably make a lot more sense if you read the other's first (though you might be able to muddle through anyways). I'm taking this episode out of order, obviously. It just worked out better in my head that way.<p>

Keep in mind, this is the Tenth Doctor, not the Eleventh. I'm not entirely sure how differently to portray him; they are, after all, quite a bit alike. On the other hand, they have their differences and the situation has changed. I'm going to try very hard to keep the Doctor sounding like the Tenth, but I worry I might struggle a bit with this. Wish me luck. =)

Reviews and suggestions are always welcome (and they're quite good motivation to keep writing).


	2. 11:2 Don't Blink

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

* * *

><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**Only a Statue: "Dominion" by James Dooley**

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><p>PART ELEVEN – THE TIME OF ANGELS<p>

Chapter Two – Don't Blink

Viera could only describe the Doctor's expression as foreboding. It worried her, how unexcited he was at the thought of this particular 'adventure'. She didn't have a chance to question him though, because Father Octavian was talking over the sound of a transport ship beginning to land. The other soldiers were already setting up a makeshift base out of tents and tables and a few other transport vehicles that had landed immediately.

"The Angel, as far as we know, is still trapped in the ship," Octavian explained as they strode across the rocky beach. Viera hurried to keep up, glancing back at where River had stopped to talk to a soldier. "Our mission is to get inside and neutralize it. We can't get through up top, we'd be too close to the drives. According to this," Octavian waved the small device in his hand, "behind the cliff face, there's a network of catacombs leading right up to the temple. We can blow through the base of the cliffs, get into the entrance chamber, then make our way up."

"Wait, I'm sorry," Viera interrupted, struggling to follow the conversation. "Neutralize? How are we neutralizing it? What is 'it' exactly?" They stopped near a table cluttered with bits of technology and Octavian stared at her as though only just noticing her presence.

"Ah, well, that's-" Octavian started a bit hesitantly.

"Father Octavian?" a soldier called.

"Excuse me," Octavian excused himself immediately and went to him men.

_Well that's a good sign._ "What exactly is a Weeping Angel?" Viera asked once it was just the two of them.

The Doctor frowned at her and she fidgeted. "I want you to go back to the TARDIS. Wait for me there."

Viera froze, her worry intensifying. He'd never asked her to stay behind during like that, not ever. "Is it that bad?" she asked more quietly.

"A Weeping Angel is the deadliest, most powerful, most malevolent life form evolution has ever produced, and _they_ want me to crawl inside that ship to capture one with nothing but a screwdriver and a torch." The Doctor started ranting about the danger, but he switched gears quickly when he saw the growing concern on Viera's face. "Not that I can't do it, of course. I'll be _fine_. I just think it might be best if you waited on the TARDIS."

His nonchalant tone wasn't fooling her. It was frightening that they were facing something that actually worried the Doctor that much, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let him face it without her.

It didn't help that she'd be leaving him with River in the process.

"That's sweet, but I'd rather stay with you, thanks," Viera stated, the beginnings of stubbornness settling into her expression.

"Viera-"

"We're a team, aren't we? You and I?" she interrupted. "After everything we've been through- I'm not leaving _now_. So you might as well stop arguing." She watched him carefully, fully prepared to keep defending her choice, but while the Doctor still looked unhappy with her decision, resignation had seeped into his eyes.

"All right. All right," he sighed, dragging a hand through his hair in agitation before pointing a stern finger at her. "But no taking unnecessary chances. No wandering off. You stay close. You listen. If I tell you to do something-"

"Am I really that bad?" Viera asked, interrupting his tirade with a slight laugh. "When do I ever disobey orders?" _Or suggestions, or even hints that you want things a certain way?_

The Doctor huffed slightly in disagreement, but he lowered his finger. "Whenever you decide other people's lives are more important than your own," he grumbled lowly as he turned back to the gadgets on the table. She wasn't sure he'd meant for her to hear that, but thinking back on their experiences, Viera supposed he was right. Still…

"You're such a hypocrite," she murmured fondly, shifting to her left just enough that their shoulders touched. She couldn't quite shake the worry that they were getting in over their heads, but it would be infinitely worse sitting alone in the TARDIS wondering what he was facing alone.

The Doctor didn't look at her, but she heard his soft sigh and saw a bit of the tension in his shoulders ease. No use worrying about things he couldn't change. She wasn't leaving. He'd have to knock her out or something to get her back on the TARDIS without him, and she didn't think things were _quite_ that dire yet.

"Doctor? Doctor!" River leaned out of one of the sturdy military transport ships nearby, calling to them. "Father Octavian!"

"Best get started," the Doctor mused. "The sooner we get this sorted, the better." He offered her his hand and they followed Octavian into the transport. The beach behind them grew dark as the last of the sunlight faded from the sky.

River and Octavian were looking at a screen. The footage was black and white and cluttered with a bit of static, but they could all see the angel on screen quite clearly.

"It's a statue," Viera blurted in surprise. Of course she knew it wasn't, couldn't be an ordinary statue, but it certainly wasn't what she'd been expecting.

"It's a Weeping Angel," River corrected without the slightest bit of mocking in her voice. "It's from the security cameras in the Byzantium vault. I ripped it when I was on board. Sorry about the quality. It's four seconds. I've put it on loop."

"Where'd it come from?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh, pulled from the ruins of Razbanhan, end of last century," River replied. "It's been in private hands ever since, dormant all that time."

"There's a difference between dormant and patient," the Doctor muttered, sending a shiver down Viera's spine.

She eyed the statue on screen; it certainly looked as still and solid as stone. "So they're creatures made of stone?" she asked.

"Not exactly. It's only a statue when you see it. The Weeping Angels can only move if they're unseen, or so legend has it," River explained.

"It's not legend," disagreed the Doctor. "It's a quantum lock. In the sight of living creature, the Angels literally cease to exist. They're just stone. The ultimate defense mechanism."

Viera turned that over in her mind, stills studying the screen. "What if something happens to the stone? What the statue gets broken? Does the Angel die?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Even if they're smashed, the stone's not really their existence. It's a bit complicated, but as soon as they move again they're whole. River was right. As far as I know, they can't ever die."

Well that sounded dangerous. "So what are we going to do when we find it?"

The Doctor glanced at Octavian, but the Bishop seemed to be looking to him for a plan. "Well…" he considered. "If we can keep an eye on it once we find it, we should be able to move it into so sort of transport, then into storage. You _do_ have somewhere to keep it, don't you?"

"Our best scientists built a cell designed to be unbreakable. We're flying one in now," Octavian offered.

"I'd best take a look at that," the Doctor stated, only sounding a little bit doubtful. Just because something was _designed _to be unbreakable, didn't mean it was.

Viera heard their voices fade as they left the transport, still talking. She followed a bit slower, pausing at the door to listen to the Doctor talking about radiation. Viera grimaced; their last run in with radiation hadn't gone so well. She thought about following him, but the Doctor had turned to talk to River, and suddenly Viera didn't want to be there.

_You're being ridiculous,_ she told herself, stepping back inside the transport. _So what if she has more history with him? So what if she makes him nervous? So what if she calls him __**Sweetie**__?_

"That doesn't have to mean anything, does it?" she muttered aloud, her gaze flickering to the screen they'd left on. Viera stilled and a surge of cold washed through her veins. Thoughts of jealously faded. The picture on the screen had changed. The Angel's hands weren't over its face and it was turned just slightly towards the camera.

"All right. That's- fine. Now I'm seeing things." Viera took a step back and tore her gaze away to lean out of the transport door. "River? Was there another clip of the Angel?"

"No, just the four seconds," River replied, barely looking away from the Doctor.

"And it had its hands over its face, right?" Viera checked, wondering if she hadn't been paying enough attention in the first place.

River and the Doctor were bent over an old book, caught up in whatever they were looking for.

"Never mind," Viera muttered, fighting back irrational hurt at being not-quite-ignored. She stepped back into the transport and looked at the screen. "It doesn't anymore," she called loudly. She couldn't bring herself to look away long enough to lean back outside. The Angel was facing forwards, hands at its side. The time code kept looping from 11:24 to 11:28, but that wasn't possible. Maybe it was a computer glitch. Maybe River had gotten more footage than she'd realized.

Viera took a step forward then paused, curiosity warring with instinct. There was probably a perfectly logical explanation for the extra footage, but still she had goose bumps, her heart was pounding, and her skin felt cold. She was scared, though she imagined she'd just feel silly once she was back with the others. Still… she didn't want that thing on screen at her back. Best to turn it off.

Without looking away from the screen, Viera reached for the remote. She pressed the power button and felt a brief flash of relief as the screen turned black. It didn't last. The Angel came back on with a quiet chatter of static. She tried again. And again. It wouldn't turn off.

Viera licked her suddenly dry lips and tried not to panic. "All right. That's fine. The batteries in the remote must be dead. I just need to…" She glanced down at the plug that led from the screen to the wall, then glanced back up and jumped. The Angel had moved closer. She was breathing faster now, which wasn't exactly helping her stay calm, but that seemed like a lost cause anyway. Viera kept her wide eyes on the screen as she reached down, grabbed the cord and yanked.

She yanked a little too hard and lost her balance. Her gaze slipped from the screen as she caught herself. The Angel's face was right up to the camera when she looked back and Viera gasped. _Oh, God. Why won't it turn off. This is- This is bad. This is very bad._

It felt like being caught in the middle of a nightmare, too scared to move, too scared to make a sound. She stared at the Angel, her mind scrambling for something, _anything _to ease the fear.

"Doctor!" Viera called hoarsely. Then louder. "Doctor!" She stepped back, nearly stumbling over her own feet, and tried to push open the door she didn't remember closing. It wouldn't budge. Some lock or latch had caught in the doorframe and it wouldn't move. The handle wouldn't even turn. She was trapped. "_**Doctor!**__"_ Viera yelled as loud as she could. She pounding on the door with one fist, unwilling to turn away from the screen long enough to use the other.

It was no good. He couldn't hear her. He wasn't coming. Panic hit and she spun away from the screen to struggle with the door. She moaned when she glanced back at the Angel. It wasn't on the screen anymore, it was _there_, in the room with her. It looked more demon than angle, with clawed hands reaching for her and sharp teeth bared in a silent snarl. "Doctor," she whimpered, pressing back against the door.

"Viera!" The call was muffled by the thick door, but the Doctor's voice still made her sag in relief.

"It's moved! It's coming out of the screen!" Viera yelled. "I can't get the door open."

"Don't stop looking at it!" the Doctor shouted back. "It can't move if you're looking!" She heard him exchange a muffled conversation with River and didn't bother trying to make out the words. "Don't blink, Viera! Don't even blink!"

"Get me out!" she pleaded, staring at the Angel with wide eyes. Of course now that he'd told her not to blink, that was all she wanted to do. Her eyes were getting dry and itchy and she needed to blink. She couldn't help it. Her eyelids slid closed; it was only a fraction of a heartbeat, but it was enough. Abruptly the Angel was another foot closer, grasping hands stretched towards her. "_Doctor!"_ she cried. Viera held her eyes open with her fingers, terrified that she would blink again involuntarily. "Get me _out!"_

"I'm trying!" the Doctor promised. He sounded more frustrated than reassuring and Viera hissed through her teeth, clinging to the fact that he hadn't failed her yet. "Can you turn it off? The screen, can you turn it off?"

"Can't. Tried," Viera stated. _Stop panicking. Stop it. You're being ridiculous,_ she tried to tell herself. _I'm not dying here like this, killing by a stupid video recording._ She took a deep breath, then another. She let go of one eyelid, blinking away the water that had started to build, then she blinked the other, careful to keep one eye on the Angel at all times. _God help me. Please, please, help._ She could still hear the Doctor on the other side of the door, trying to get to her. Obviously it wasn't working. She tried to remember what else was in the room without letting her gaze wander. She wasn't sure there was anything she could use. Even if she could get to exposed wires somehow, she couldn't overload or drain the television; it was already unplugged.

There had to be some buildup of energy inside the actual television for it to be staying on. She'd have to get to the screen itself. Oh, that sounded stupid. She couldn't think of anything else to do though.

"Doctor?" she called, feeling a little more calm with a plan, even a sort of suicidal one. "Any chance you're going to get that door open any time soon?"

"Viera… We're trying," the Doctor promised, voice low and worried.

She was glad he wasn't lying to her. "All right. What happens if I touch the Angel. It looks… like a hologram." A viciously terrifying hologram, but still. "Can it really hurt me?"

"Whatever hold the image of an Angel, is an Angel," River answered when the Doctor didn't.

"Don't touch it," the Doctor ordered. "Can you try turning it off again? Just don't- Don't look away."

"But what happens?" Viera insisted. There was silence on the other side and she wandered if he hadn't heard her or if it was really just that bad.

"Not the eyes," she thought she heard the Doctor mutter. Then the order came loud and clear. "Viera, don't look at the eyes! Look anywhere else, but not the eyes."

"What?" Viera swallowed as she stared into the Angel's eyes as she had been doing for some time. "It's a little late for that!" she shouted, tearing her gaze away to stare at the fanged mouth instead. "Why not the eyes? Doctor?"

There was a brief pause. "That's fine. Just don't look at them anymore," the Doctor stated.

_Whatever he meant, we're going to have to deal with that later. I can't just stand here any longer._ Viera took a deep breath and sidestepped towards the wall. She backed up to the desk and edged closer to the Angel, staring harder than she ever had before. It was so close, too close. Viera hardly breathed as she drew even with the holographic monster. She had to get past it. She had to. But the transport wasn't all that big and one of the Angel's raised arms was only inches away. Viera leaned back and inched towards the screen.

It felt like it took forever. It certainly took long enough to worry the Doctor, who was yelling on the other side of the door. Viera couldn't catch her breath enough to reply. She focused on not freezing instead. Ever so slowly she crept past, until finally, _finally_ she was closer to the screen than the Angel.

She trembled as she raised one hand to the back of the TV, fingers seeking out any wires she could find. She had to pry open a panel without looking, but eventually she found what she wanted. The moment she felt the first spark she pulled every ounce of energy out of the television and into her channels, praying frantically that the Angel was only in the image and not in the energy she'd just taken in.

The holograph disappeared and the screen turned off. Viera lowered her arms slowly, then jumped when the door was flung open.

Then the Doctor ran in and suddenly everything was all right again. Viera slumped against the wall, prompting deeper concern from the Doctor.

"Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?" he asked, planting himself in front of her. His fingers tucked a strand of sweat-dampened hair behind her ear, and he cupped her chin to tilt her head slightly from one side to the other, studying her eyes.

"I'm fine. Just. That was _really_ creepy," Viera admitted. The Doctor eyed her a moment longer, then accepted her reply and settled an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him instead of the wall as he scanned the television with his screwdriver.

"Did you unplug it?" River asked, sharp eyes spotting the loose cord. Viera looked at her carefully, but the other woman didn't seem bothered by how close she was to the Doctor.

"Tried to. It didn't work. I had to drain the television set itself."

"So it was here? That was the Angel?" River mused. She didn't seem curious about _how_ Viera had drained the television, and she wondered suddenly how much River knew about her.

"Well, a projection of the Angel," the Doctor explained. "It's reaching out, getting a look at us. It's not dormant anymore, is it," he muttered, studying the readings on his screwdriver.

"Can we get out of here?" Viera asked a moment later. She felt worlds better now that she wasn't alone, but she kept glancing at the screen, half-expecting it to have turned on again. _Oh, that's going to give me nightmares._

"Yes. Right, of course," the Doctor agreed immediately. He motioned River out first. She gave them a look, smiled slightly in understanding, then went to find Octavian. The Doctor stopped Viera outside the transport, a hand on each shoulder as he looked into her eyes. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to the ship?" he asked quietly.

Part of her was tempted. She'd be quite happy to never see a Weeping Angel again, and while she didn't really want to be anywhere alone, she was pretty sure the TARDIS' presence would be enough to keep her calm.

"I'm sure," Viera answered anyways.


	3. 11:3 Maze of the Dead

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

* * *

><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**Catacombs: "Forsaken" by Sycross**

* * *

><p>PART ELEVEN – THE TIME OF ANGELS<p>

Chapter Three – Maze of the Dead

The sound of an explosion tore through the night air. The Doctor and Viera turned to see dust spray into the air a short distance away, and Father Octavian waved to them, River by his side.

"Doctor! We're through!" he shouted.

The Doctor took a deep breath. "No time like the present," he mused, his tone a third resignation and two thirds optimism. Viera echoed his smile and let him lead her away, scrubbing absently at the itch beneath her eyelids.

_Must have gotten dust in my eye from that explosion._

When they reached the hole, Octavian and River had already climbed down. There was a sturdy rope ladder dangling into the low glow of flashlights. The Doctor went down first and Viera followed carefully. She turned, then stilled, her hazel eyes straining to make out shapes in the darkness. The illumination of the flashlights only went so far; the enormous cavern went one well beyond that.

"Anyone got a gravity globe?" the Doctor asked.

"Grav globe," Octavian's echo made the words an order and one of the soldiers quickly pulled a sphere out of his pack and handed it to the Bishop, who handed it to the Doctor. The Time Lord weighed the ball in his hand, then with an underhand sweep, tossed it high up into the air. The sphere paused at the top of its arc, suspended in the air. It flared brightly, illuminating everything below like a sliver of sunlight.

Viera sucked in a breath, feeling a moment of awe as she did every time she saw a place so very different from one she'd seen before. Never mind the brief shiver of fear that followed. They were in a vast cavern, stories upon stories of crumbling ruins above them. Humanoid statues stood along every ledge. They looked almost older than the ruins, faces and limbs beginning to disintegrate. Some of them were missing chunks of stone; others were simply so worn all their details were gone.

"I guess this makes it a bit trickier," Octavian muttered.

"Just a bit," replied the Doctor. He sounded almost amused by the odds against them. Viera didn't find the situation very funny, but she had to admit that she relaxed a little with the Doctor's light tone.

"A stone angel on the loose amongst the statues. A lot harder than I'd prayed for," the Bishop admitted. That caught Viera's attention; was he really a man of faith then? She'd thought perhaps that the outfit was entirely military and titles like Bishop and Cleric were just terms of rank, like Captain or Sergeant.

"A needle in a haystack," agreed River lowly.

"Well," the Doctor drawled, "if we're going to search the whole stack, we'd best get started. Allons-y," he beckoned, motioning them forward. Octavian hung back a moment to give orders to his men, but River and Viera kept close to the Doctor.

Their search was fairly uneventful for a long while, aside from River insisting that Viera get a shot of viro-stabiliser and one of the soldiers firing his gun at a harmless, ordinary statue. Viera couldn't blame him though; she kept jumping at shadows herself. In the vast maze of statues and stone it seemed impossible that they could ever find the Angel if it didn't want to be found.

Of course the idea of it _wanting_ to be found was terrifying in its own right.  
>"Incredible builders, the Aplans," River mused as their search continued fruitlessly. "Massive ship crashes in through the roof but the whole thing is as solid as a, well, as a rock."<p>

"Mmm," the Doctor gave a sound of agreement as he peered out into the shadows. "Had dinner with their chief architect once. Two heads are better than one, you know."

"You helped him build something?" Viera asked, wondering if he'd had anything to do with the construction of the temple they were in.

"No. Well, yes, but I meant he had two heads." The Doctor grinned at Viera's surprise, but his amusement shifted quickly to puzzlement, like there was a thought or a memory just out of reach. He turned to River. "That book, the very end, what did it say."

"Hang on." River rummaged in her pack for the book obediently, then started reading aloud. "What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels."

Viera couldn't help but make a face at that, a horrified shiver sneaking up her spine. "Well that's… creepy," she muttered. Viera tried not to think about the Angel on the video or what other things could crawl out of nightmares and become real if that was truly how the Angels had been created.

The Doctor nudged her shoulder and gave her a steadying smile when she glanced at him. Viera felt herself relax a little, and she tried to focus on her immediate surroundings rather than theories about the Angels. Her legs were beginning to ache a bit. The long, uphill trudging used very different muscles than their usual running. "It's quite a climb, isn't it."

"The maze is on six levels representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go," River offered encouragingly.

The Doctor's thoughts were drifting back to their previous topic. "Lovely species, the Aplans. We should visit them some time."

_It might be nice to see this place the way it used to be. _"What are they like?"

"Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. Well, and why wouldn't they be? With two heads you learn to compromise pretty quickly I imagine. 'S not like you can get away to cool off after an argument."

River wasn't listening, her concentration focused on their surroundings. She frowned at the statues they passed, puzzled frustration in her eyes. "Doctor, there's something. I don't know what it is…"

"Yeah, something wrong," he agreed. He didn't sound terribly concerned, but Viera could see the little wrinkle he sometimes got between his brows when he was worried. "Not sure what it is yet, but I'll get there."

"Lowest point in the wreckage is only about fifty feet up from here," Octavian spoke up, motioning ahead. "That way."

They were all content to let him lead. Viera was busy concentrating on where she was putting her feet, trying not to trip over the bits of rubble on their uphill path. Then sudden the Doctor wasn't walking beside her anymore. She looked back to see that he'd stopped, staring at one of the statues with a look of horror-tinged surprise on his expressive face.

"Oh!" he breathed. "Oh, that's… very not good."

Things were bad if the Doctor was that worried. Viera glanced from him to River, who had a similar expression on her face. "What is it?"

"Oh," River echoed, shining her flashlight on the face of one of the statues.

"Right," the Doctor stated. He took a deep breath before turning his attention to his comrades. "Nobody panic."

_Oh, sure, because that's not worrying at all. What's going on?_ Viera wondered, eyeing the statues they'd been looking at. She still didn't understand.

"How could we not notice that?" River muttered.

"Eh, low level perception filter," the Doctor suggested, managing to shrug with a twist of his expression and a tilt of his head rather than with his shoulders. "Then again, maybe we're just thick," he added as hint of self-disgust leaked through.

"What is it?" Viera repeated, more insistently. The Doctor turned apologetic brown eyes her way and held up a hand in a silent plea for calm. Almost automatically she took a deep breath and straightened, pushing down the worry.

"It'll be all right. Nobody move. Everyone stay exactly where they are," the Doctor's voice was steady, authoritative. No one argued. No one moved. "Bishop, I'm truly sorry. I've made a mistake. We've walked into a rather dangerous situation. Things might get a little bit tricky."

"Dangerous how?" Octavian asked, following the Doctor's gaze to the statues.

"The Aplans," River explained, sort of.

"That Aplans?" echoed the Bishop.

"They've got two heads."

"Yes, I get that. So?" Octavian's voice took on a tinge of impatience.

"So why don't the statues?" River asked calmly.

"Oh," Viera murmured at the same time as the Bishop. She took an automatic step back from the nearest statues, staring wide-eyed at the rough, misshapen ovals where their faces should have been. _Oh. Oh, this is very, very bad. But they can't be. They just can't be. We'd be dead already, wouldn't we?_ The thought that all of those statues held a creature like the one who had tried to attack her through the screen was overwhelming.

"Yeah," the Doctor, grim for just a moment before calm authority took over. He motioned with his flashlight to a curve in the tunnel completely void of statues. "Everyone, over there. Don't ask questions. Don't speak. Just go." River Song obeyed immediately, quickly followed by the soldiers. Viera shuffled backwards as quickly as she could without looking away from the statues. The Doctor followed, though he deliberately stayed between the ground and the Angels. Then he took a deep breath."All right, I want you all the switch off your torches."

"Sir?"

"Just… trust me a moment," the Doctor insisted without looking behind him. There was a brief moment of hesitation, but the flashlights went off one by one. "Okay. I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a second."

"Are you sure about this?" River asked. Viera was thinking the same thing.

"Not really, no."

_Well that's reassuring,_ Viera mused, breathing faster as fear-driven adrenaline coursed through her veins. That was all she had time to think before the light flickered off. She flinched as it came back on and abruptly all the statues were turned towards them.

"They've moved," Octavian groaned quietly as realization sunk in.

The Doctor darted back the way they'd come to get a look at the rest of the statues. All of them had moved in that brief instant the lights had been off. The Doctor stopped, his light trained on a statue on the ground halfway risen to its feet as it reached towards him. "They're Angels. All of them."

"But they can't be," River breathed.

"Why not?" Viera asked, caught somewhere between panic and the calm that sometimes came from being so completely overwhelmed by emotions that they just shut down. _Angels. They're all Angels. We are so very dead._

"They just… There's just so many. There was only one Angel on the ship. I swear, there was only one. And they're rare. They were _supposed_ to be rare," River insisted. She sounded almost offended that history and facts had led her astray.

"Wouldn't be the first time history's gotten something wrong," the Doctor pointed out, earning himself a fierce glare. He cleared his throat and turned away from River. "Clerics, keep watching them," he ordered, jogging a bit further ahead. River and Viera followed, neither willing to be left behind even if they were walking deeper into the Angels' grasps. Their flashlights illuminated more statues, ones they'd passed on their way to the tunnel, all of them frozen in the motion of following them. "Every statue in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. And they're coming after us."

"Why not before now? They've had us surrounded for ages. Why haven't they come after us yet? What are they waiting for?" Viera asked, keeping an eye on as many statues as she could while trying to blink as little as possible.

"They're dying. Losing their form," the Doctor explained. He sounded just a little bit sorry for them. "They must have been down here for centuries, starving."

"Losing their image," River mused.

"And their image is their power. Power," he echoed as his thoughts caught on something.  
>"Power! Ohhh, that's it! Of course that's it!" the Doctor exclaimed, gesturing wilding in his agitation. "All that radiation spilling out, the drive burn. The crash wasn't an accident; it was a rescue mission for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up."<p>

"Great," Viera stated unenthusiastically. "What are the chances that we can get out of here before they finish waking?"

The Doctor grimaced silently, which spoke clearly enough.

Octavian turned his attention to the small group of soldiers they'd left behind to watch their back. The ones they'd left behind where it was supposed to be safer. The ones left alone with the waking Angels and no knowledge of what they were up against. "Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in please. Any of you, come in!"

The radio crackled and the quiet voice of the youngest soldier came through. "It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active!"

"I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir."

Viera flinched, as much from the look on the Bishop's face as the news. She didn't remember the men who went with those names, though she'd try to later. It still wasn't easy to accept that they'd already lost comrades in the catacombs.

The Doctor snatched the radio out of Octavian's hand. "'Scuse me. Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor. Where are you?"

"I'm talking to my-" the Bishop tried to object.

"Just give me a minute!" the Doctor argued over him.

"I'm on my way up to you, sir, I'm homing on your signal."

"Well done, Bob," the Doctor encouraged. "Scared keeps you fast, told you, didn't I? Your friends, Bob, what did the Angel do to them?"

_Does it really matter? They're dead?_

"Snapped their necks, sir." Bob's reply was immediate and matter-of-fact.

_Wasn't he the scared one? The one who shot at shadows? Is he in shock?_

The Doctor lowered the radio from his mouth to think out loud, pacing a few steps as he did so. "See now, that's odd. That's very odd. That's not how the Angels kill you, they displace you in time. Unless- Unless they needed the bodies for something."

That was quite enough for Octavian. He grabbed the radio. "Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan."

"The Angels don't leave you alive!" the Doctor snapped, forcefully taking back the radio. "Bob, don't go back, do you hear me? Keep running." There was a flicker of hesitation in his voice as he continued, like he wasn't sure he wanted the answer. "How did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, sir. The Angel killed me too."

Everyone stilled. Viera's gaze flickered towards the Doctor before she realized everyone else was looking at them too, and she made herself refocus on the statues.

"What do you mean the Angel killed you too?" the Doctor asked slowly.

"Snapped my neck, sir. Wasn't as painless as I expected but it was pretty quick, so that was something."

Viera grimaced, feeling a sharper pain of regret. _Oh, Bob._

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?"

"You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice. It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."

"So when you say you're on your way up to us..."

"It's the Angel that's coming, sir, yes."

The Doctor was silent for a long moment, struggling to find a way to turn things around, to keep them alive. From the strained look on his face, the odds weren't good. "Go. We have to go now. Go! All of you run!" he barked, finally getting the soldiers to move. "Go, go, go!"

River took a few running steps, then turned back abruptly. The Time Lord wasn't following. "Doctor?" she asked, a tone of warning mixing with the concern in her voice.

"Yes, I'm coming, just go! Go!"

Viera had yet to move, and she stiffened when he turned her way, expecting his protest.

"Viera-" he started, the drawn out word edging around the dangerous tone he so rarely used.

"No."

"Viera-"

"Why aren't you running?" she demanded.

"I'll be right behind you," he promised.

"You'll be right beside me," she grumbled, clinging to her stubbornness in an effort not to feel the anxiousness that came from arguing. "I'm waiting." Her voice was as hard and unyielding as she could make it and frustration twisted the Doctor's expression.

"We don't have time for this," he groaned, turning to the Bishop, the only other one who had stayed behind. Viera took a deep breath and let herself lean against the railing behind her. Her fingers flexed around the carved stone as her gaze trailed over the still statues at the edges of the light.

"I'm sorry about your men," The Doctor stated, completely sincere for all that he was a little bit hurried. "And for snapping at you. But there's no way we could have rescued them."

The Bishop's expression was hard. "I know that, sir. And when you've flown away in your little blue box, I'll explain that to their families."

Octavian turned and walked away too quickly to see the Doctor's flinch behind him. Viera bit her lip, but the pain vanished from his expression just as quickly as it'd come. Concentration took its place, hints of anger simmering beneath as he spoke into the radio.

"Angel Bob, which Angel am I talking to? The one from the ship?"

"Yes, sir. The other Angels are still restoring."

"Ah, so the Angel is not in the wreckage. Thank you." He let go of the radio switch and turned to flash a grim smile at Viera. "Time to go." He started running in the direction the others had gone.

Viera tried to follow. Really she did. But her left hand refused to release the railing. She turned back and sucked in a breath. There was a good reason her hand wouldn't move; it had completely turned to stone.

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have a hard time not hearing the 11th Doctor when I'm writing this, especially since I watch clips of the episode along the way. I've found that I have to go watch clips of David Tennant as well (not that I'm complaining about that of course; it's hardly a bad thing) in order to get the 10th Doctor's voice down while changing his lines.<p> 


	4. 11:4 Leap of Faith

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

* * *

><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**11:4 – Hunted: "Of Light and Darkness" by Fox Amoore**

* * *

><p>PART ELEVEN – THE TIME OF ANGELS<p>

Chapter Four – Leap of Faith

"Doctor!" Viera called, staring at the lifeless stone hand that was anchoring her to the railing. She heard his sneakers tap against the stone cave as he ran back to her. "I can't- My hand- It's stone." She finally tore her gaze from her hand to look at the Doctor.

He stared down at her hand with a grim expression for a long moment before he turned to look at her. His countenance softened immediately upon seeing her worry, though he didn't look any less serious. "Hold still a moment," he murmured. He brought up his flashlight, shining it in her eyes. Reflexively she flinched away, but he caught her chin with gentle fingers. She stilled immediately, trying not to squint too much against the light.

"I was afraid of this," he admitted when he lowered the flashlight.

"Afraid of what?" Viera asked breathlessly.

The Doctor's mouth twitched into a grimace. "When you looked into the Angel's eyes… it gave it some sort of connection to you." He shook his head and leaned closer, meeting her gaze with those warm, steady brown eyes of his. "It is messing with your head. Your hand is not made of stone."

"Yes it is!" she insisted. She stared at her hand and tried to pull away from the railing again. Her hand, her wrist, were grey. Her skin looked rough and completely solid. She didn't understand why he was saying otherwise. Frustration and anger rose up from the back of her mind to tangle with the fear. "It's stone!"

"Viera." The Doctor caught her face in his hands and held on even when she half-heartedly tried to pull away. "_Listen to me._ It's not stone." Viera couldn't wipe the incredulous disbelief off her face. "I wouldn't- Do you really think I'd lie to you about this?"

Confusion surfaced from beneath the other emotions and Viera frowned. _Lie… to me? Would he? It's not like he never lies but… but he always has a reason. What would the point be? Telling me my hand's not stone when it is wouldn't do me any good._ "I- But it's stone." It wasn't a question but her voice was far less sure.

"It's not. I swear it's not. Close your eyes and focus on me, just on me. Relax, all right?" the Doctor stated. His words were calm, but his eyes darted to the corridor behind her as the flashlights flickered like candles in a draft.

Viera took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She fully intended to do as he asked, but the moment her vision went black, fear flared bright and inescapable in her mind. A gasp tore from her throat and her eyes flew open as she shook her head. "I don't want to," Viera blurted.

The Doctor's gaze grew sharper as he studied her, but he didn't argue. "All right. Just focus on me then. Don't look over. Keep your eyes on me, yeah?"

Viera nodded dutifully. He reached for her arm; his cool fingers slid down her shoulder, past her elbow, leaving goose bumps in their wake. Viera swallowed. Her hazel eyes remained locked on his, but all her focus seemed to be drawn to whatever patch of skin he happened to be touching. His fingers skimmed across her forearm before closing around her wrist. Confusion fluttered to life again.

_I can't feel that. My wrist is stone. But I- That's not- I __**can**__ feel something. Can't I? Amy I just imagining that? My hand is stone; I can't possibly feel anything through that, right? __**If**__ my hand is stone._ She was getting a headache. She didn't understand; she'd never had a problem believing something just because the Doctor said it before.

The Doctor grimaced very slightly. That was all the warning she had before a brief, sharp pain shot through her hand.

"Ow!" Viera complained, jerking back reflexively. She frowned the reddened patch on the back of her hand. Her very fleshy hand. Her hand which was no longer curled around the railing.

The lights flickered and the Doctor snatched her hand up and pulled her along with him as he started to run. "Time to go!"

"You pinched me," Viera observed. Her mind was still trying to catch up, though her legs seemed to be running just fine despite her lack of concentration.

"Yeah. Sorry," the Doctor said, though the apology wasn't all that sincere. "You were taking too long."

"It wasn't every really stone then." Viera glanced back even as she spoke. The statues behind them were frozen still, but they were reaching towards them, some partway to their feet, others in the middle of preparing to leap.

"Nope. Not even a little."

"It seemed so real," she murmured. Viera wasn't sure what she was more afraid of now: the statues trying to kill them or the Angel in her mind messing with her senses. "What else can the Angel make me see?"

The Doctor gave her a measuring look, like he was deciding whether she could handle the truth or if he should be lying. Viera tried to look brave because she didn't want to be lied to just then, but mostly she just looked worried.

"Not sure," he admitted. Despite the serious undertones, he still managed to sound confident, almost lighthearted. "Tell you what. You see or hear or feel anything unusual, you tell me, all right?"

"Right," Viera agreed. She clung a little harder to his hand and saved the rest of her breath for running.

It didn't take them long to catch up with the others. Relief flooded River's expression when she saw them, though she didn't seem surprised.

"What took you?" she asked mockingly.

"Oh, you know, took a bit of a detour. Had a look around," the Doctor replied with an easy grin. "It's quite nice. I'm thinking of building a vacation home."

The bright blue light of a gravity globe hung in the air overhead. It flickered as Viera looked up, startled to see metal instead of stone. They were under the ship. _Way_ under the ship; there was no way they were going to be able to get that high without some very good climbing equipment.

"That flickering, that's the Angels. They're getting closer. They're going to kill the lights," the Doctor warned. "They're absorbing the power for themselves, greedy little beasts."

"Which means we won't be able to see them," Octavian observed.

"Yes, well, that is something of a problem," the Doctor muttered, looking up at the ship lodged into the cave ceiling.

"There are more incoming!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"Any suggestions?" River asked. All the lights in the cavern fluctuated wildly, dimming until they almost went out before briefly recovering, over and over again.

"The statues are advancing on all sides and we don't have the climbing equipment to reach the Byzantium_,_" Octavian observed grimly.

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out. No pressure, but this is usually when you have a _really_ good idea," River reminded the Doctor

Viera breathed a quiet, shaky laugh. That was how it seemed to go. The worse things got, the more brilliant the Doctor's ideas had to be to get them out. More brilliant or more crazy. And sometimes just lucky.

"Oh, there's always a way out," the Doctor replied, sounding fairly unworried. The lights faltered again, blanketing them all in darkness. When they flickered back on the Angels were crowded around the passage where they'd entered.

"Well it's not that way," Viera murmured, staring hard at the Angels. _Please don't let the lights go out. Please, oh please, oh please don't let the lights go out._

"Best find another then," the Doctor agreed absently, studying their surroundings more intently.

"Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?" the polite tones of Bob's stolen voice came through the radio.

"Hello, Angel Bob," the Doctor answered with an edgy sort of cheer. "What can we do for you today?"

"Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir."

"As interesting as all of that is, it's not exactly news," the Doctor pointed out. "So why are you telling me this?"

"There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end," Angel Bob stated, his tone never changing.

"And that would be…"

"I died in fear."

Viera flinched as the bold challenge in the Doctor's expression faded abruptly. "What?" he asked automatically.

"You told me my fear would keep me alive but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down."

_That's not true_, Viera wanted desperately to say. _But it is true, isn't it? The Doctor, __**we**__ can't save everyone. Not always. But that's not his fault. We couldn't have known that these were all Angels. It's not his fault._ But she couldn't figure how to say that without it sounding patronizing. Viera bit back the urge to speak and edged closer to the Doctor instead. Her fingers brushed against his. Though he didn't otherwise acknowledge her presence, he curled his hand around hers and gave a brief squeeze.

"I'm sorry, sir. The Angels were very keen for you to know that," Angel Bob stated when the Doctor stayed silent.

"That was a mistake," the Doctor stated. His voice started quiet, but it wasn't in defeat. The dangerous, reckless liveliness in his words was easier to recognize as he got a bit louder. "And it's not the first one you've made today. I'm sorry, Bob, that I couldn't save you, but I swear, _**I swear**_ to whatever is left of you, I'll make them sorrier." The last words were said through gritted teeth. It made the hairs at the back of Viera's neck stand up.

_They really shouldn't have taunted him like that. Bad, bad idea._

"But you're trapped, sir, and about to die."

The Doctor scoffed loudly. "Trapped. Trapped? Oh, sure, we're cut off from all the exits, but trapped? You've laid a lousy trap, Angel Bob, because this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, whopping mistake!" He let go of Viera's hand to gesture wildly as his voice raised.

"What mistake, sir?" the Angel asked politely. He was ignored.

The Doctor dropped the radio from his mouth long enough to turn to the others. "Trust me?" he asked River.

"Always." She didn't hesitate, but River gave a wry smile and shook her head slightly, already guessing that he was about to do something quite mad.

The Doctor turned to Viera, a slight smile on his face because he already knew the answer. "Trust me?"

"Yes."

He turned to the rest, the soldiers who were risking their lives to help stop the Angel. "You lot- Think you can trust me?"

The soldiers kept their eyes on the frozen Angels, useless guns clenched tightly in their hands. Octavian answered for all of them. "We have faith, sir."

"Then give me your gun." The Doctor took the weapon and look around at them all. "I'm about to do something _incredibly _stupid. And dangerous," he warned, sounding more excited than worried by the prospect. "When I do, you all need to jump."

"What?"

"Jump where?" Octavian asked.

"Just jump. Jump as high as you can." He grinned encouragingly at the Bishop. "Come on, take a leap of faith. On my signal."

"What signal?"

"You won't miss it," the Doctor promised. He lifted the gun up, aiming towards the roof. Viera glanced back at him, then up before letting her gaze settle back on the statues.

_What is he aiming at? Something on the ship?_

"Sorry, can I ask again? You mentioned a mistake?" Angel Bob apparently wasn't willing to just let that go.

"Oh, big mistake. Huuuuuge," the Doctor drawled mockingly. "Because there's one thing you never put in a trap. If you're smart, which you were really supposed to be, you know: clever little killers. There is one thing you never, ever put in a trap."

"And what would that be, sir?"

The Doctor grinned fiercely. "Me." Then he pulled the trigger on his gun and the bullets tore through gravity globe overhead. The cave went dark.

Viera thought her heart was going to stop. She froze instinctually, just for a moment. It might have been the end of her, but a hand grabbed hers and she remembered abruptly that she was supposed to jump. So she did, as high as she could. It was a rather clumsy effort, but it was enough. Her feet had barely left the ground when gravity seemed to give way. Instead of landing back on the ground, Viera felt herself falling, tumbling like hole had opened under her feet. She gave a frightened squeak, completely disoriented by the awful sensation of plummeting.

The hand around hers squeezed, reminding Viera that she wasn't alone. She clung to it desperately. A second later she hit the ground, surrounded by lights again. They were flickering, but they hadn't failed yet. The soft glow calmed her almost as much as being on solid ground. Or at least she thought it was solid.

"What just happened?" Viera asked, still hanging on to the Doctor's hand. He helped her up, giving a very slight, apologetic grimace when she rubbed the sore spot on her hip. She'd landed on it rather awkwardly.

"Look up," the Doctor urged, a pleased little grin on his face. Viera gave his a questioning look, then the tilt of his head upwards. There was no ship, only stone. The light around them barely penetrated the darkness up there, but she could make out very oddly shaped stalactites.

"All right. Maybe I'm just being thick, but I don't get it."

The Doctor sighed, like they should be expected to follow his crazy mind's processes. "We're on the Bysantium. We're standing on the ship."

Viera looked down, finally recognizing the lights imbedded in the metal around them as something she'd seen from below. They were upside down. Viera had to fight the urge to drop to the ground, _or is that ceiling?_, and cling to the surface for fear of falling. "How-?"

"The ship crashed with its power still on," the Doctor clarified without quite explaining. Viera gave him a look. She knew he liked to lead them to finding the answers themselves, but she'd had about as much as she could handle with the deadly statues and the video and her stone hand. The Doctor motioned to the ship at their feet. "Power means artificial gravity. I shot out the grav-globe to give us an updraft. One good jump and up we fell!"

He was quite pleased with himself, almost gloating. Viera had to admit, as far as crazy-stupid plans went, it wasn't bad. She still didn't like standing on the ceiling with nothing but Angels to catch her if she fell. Speaking of which…

"Can the Angels get here without the updraft?" Viera asked, craning her neck to keep an eye on the shadowed figures of statues below. Above. _Whatever._

"Welllll," the Doctor drew out the word reluctantly. "I imagine they're far better climbers than we are."

"Doctor. The statues, they look more like Angels now," Octavian commented. The soldier around them and River were all on their feet, looking up.

"This is why they wanted this ship. They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage," the Doctor explained, a bit more subdued. "They'll drain the power from the ship until they're restored, then they'll be an army."

_A practically unstoppable army._ "What are we going to do?" Viera asked quietly. She glanced back at the Doctor, somewhat surprised to find him crouched at her feet.

"Just a step to your right," he instructed, motioning for her to move. Viera obeyed, watching as he aimed the sonic screwdriver at the spot where she'd been standing. They'd drawn the attention of the others, but the Doctor waved them away as soon as he realized that. "Keep looking at the Angels. Don't stop."

The lights flickered, dimming more and more by the second. "Right. No problem," River agreed with sarcasm that didn't quite hide the worry.

The soft hum of the screwdriver went silent and there was a hissing pop, like the sound of something pressurized being opened. Viera glanced down to see a hatch opened up into the ship.

"Keep looking at the Angels, but move this way," the Doctor ordered calmly. "Quick as you can, thank you." He flashed a grin at Viera and climbed into the hole.

Viera followed, hanging on to the edge of the doorway as she expected to be dangling into a corridor. She was surprised, and rather relieved, to find herself on her knees, slightly dizzy from the sensation of gravity shifting again.

"The gravity orients to the floor," the Doctor pointed out with a smirk.

"Of course it does," Viera murmured, giving a soft, relieved laugh as she moved out of the way. River came in, followed by the soldiers. They tried to keep looking out the door, but the light was fading. They couldn't see all the way to the Angels anymore.


	5. 11:5 The Countdown

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

* * *

><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**11:5 – Angel Behind Her Eyes: "Subliminal Thoughts" by Epic Score**

* * *

><p>PART ELEVEN – THE TIME OF ANGELS<p>

Chapter Five – The Countdown

They were trapped. Oh, they'd all made it into the ship and shut the doors behind them, but the Angels had followed the moment they'd taken their eyes off them. The Doctor had led them deeper into the ship, but there was no escaping the Angels. In desperation the clerics sealed them into one of the inner chambers.

They were surrounded and the doors were beginning to give way.

"Doctor, how long have we got?" Octavian asked.

"Five minutes, max," the Doctor replied distractedly, caught up in fiddling with the computer console in the center of the room.

"Nine."

"Five," the Doctor repeated. He looked away from the console long enough to give Viera a funny look. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Why'd you say nine?"

"I didn't," Viera stated. "Why would I say nine?"

"Beats me. You're the one who's doing it." The Doctor studied her with unreadable eyes until the rattling of one of the sealed doors pulled his attention to more urgent things. "Oops, time for that later." He scrambled to flip a few switches then ducked beneath the console; the familiar whir of the sonic screwdriver briefly filled the room.

Queasiness had coiled in Viera's stomach during their race through the ship's corridors, and it was getting worse. She tried desperately to think about anything else, to think calming thoughts. It was just the fear, she was sure. The sense of wrongness, the sickness, it was a perfectly normal reaction, but an unnecessary one. They had gotten out of worse situations before.

"We need another way out of here," River pointed out.

"There isn't one," Octavian stated grimly.

"Oh, of course there is," the Doctor assured cheerfully. He popped back up from beneath the console with a grin. "I told you. There's always a way out. This is a galaxy class ship, goes for years and years between landings. That much time aboard ship, what do they need?"

"Of course," River breathed. Viera saw a similar look of realization cross Octavian's expression.

"You lost me," Viera admitted.

"What do human beings need to survive?" the Doctor asked, nudging her towards the answer with a gleeful air of anticipation. He took a few, bounding steps to the back wall, glancing sidelong at her even as he adjusted the screwdriver to a different setting. He half-heartedly nudged a nearby crate with his shoe, which was enough to prompt the clerics to move it for him. The Doctor grinned, quite pleased with the result. Soon enough everything was cleared away from the wall.

Viera hesitated a moment before answering; she couldn't see what he was getting at. Not that that was anything new.

"Eight."

"What?" the Doctor questioned. Abruptly he spun around to pin Viera with sharp eyes.

"What?" she echoed, completely startled by the sudden surge of attention. She frowned slightly before remembering the question. "Er… food. Water. Shelter." The Doctor was still looking at her like he was waiting for something. Viera made a face, trying to figure out what he was looking for. "Air?"

"Exactly!" The Doctor spun again and aimed the screwdriver towards the base wall with a dramatic flourish. There was a soft click and a hiss of relief, then the wall began rising.

_Air? What are we looking for? Oxygen tanks? Some sort of generator?_ Viera only had a few moments to wonder before the wall rose out of the way and her mind went blank with surprise.

It was like they'd tucked another world behind that wall. Fog curled around tall trees. Deep green moss covered their roots, interspersed with the brighter green of ferns and leafy undergrowth. An entire forest was planted into the middle of the ship.

"That's…" Viera trailed off, failing to piece together the words.

"It's an oxygen factory," River stated with clear amusement.

"It's _amazing_," Viera finally managed. She stepped past the wall to press her hand against the nearest tree. She was surprised to feel a soft, gentle hum beneath its bark. Startled hazel eyes turned towards the Doctor. He grinned, thrilled with her reaction.

"They're not just your regular, everyday earth trees. Though those are pretty amazing all on their own. You wouldn't believe what they get up to once they reach sentience," the Doctor waggled his eyebrows with a grin, nearly getting sidetracked before he pulled himself back on subject. He stepped closer to pat the tree that Viera was leaning against. "These are Treeborgs. Part tree, part machine. Absolutely brilliant!" he declared. His nimble fingers found a niche hidden in the moss of the tree and popped open a small hatch. Clusters of thin, transparent wires ran through the tree beneath the surface of the bark. Bright light surged through the tubes in a silent, steady rhythm Viera could feel better than she could see.

"Branches become cables, become sensors on the hull. A forest breathing in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains! There's a whole mini-climate," the Doctor exclaimed, gesturing towards the ceiling. Enthusiasm made his movements wild, though nowhere near clumsy. It was like there was so much energy stored up in that lithe, long-limbed body that if he didn't keep moving he'd just explode. Contagious enthusiasm. Viera couldn't help but grin.

"Seven."

"You keep doing that," the Doctor murmured. His excitement over the forest dimmed as easily as it had come. He turned to study Viera again; it made her nervous.

"Doing what?" she asked, feeling lost again.

"Counting," he replied.

That didn't make any sense at all. Viera's frown mirrored the Doctor's as her concern grew. What was going on? Was he hearing voices?

"I wasn't counting," she stated carefully, half expecting him to ask '_then who was?'_.

"Yes. You were," River spoke up from behind them.

Confusion and cold anxiety washed through Viera as she turned to stare at Professor Song. The older woman looked completely sincere, honestly concerned. _What? But I- I wasn't. I- I couldn't have been. What's going on? _Uneasiness scratched at the back of Viera's mind, and suddenly the nausea that had hit her upon entering the room was back worse than before. She swallowed hard, looking from River back to the Doctor.

The crackle of the abandoned communicator interrupted their tableau.

"Doctor? Excuse me. Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir," the hesitant voice of the former cleric quickly had the Doctor's full attention. He practically leapt out of the forest to snatch the radio off the console where he'd left it.

"We don't exactly have time for exploration and wandering, fun as that might be. See if you can find another exit through there by scanning the architecture," the Doctor told the soldiers before leaning against the console and bringing the communicator up to his mouth. "Hello there! Long time no see. _Well_, I suppose 'long time no hear' is a little more accurate since technically you've never been seen. Part of that nifty little 'perfect defense' of yours, right?" he rambled all in one breath. The words were friendly, unassuming, but there was an edge to the Doctor's tone that wasn't usually there, and Viera knew that he wasn't going to forget even for a moment that that voice was stolen from a man that shouldn't have died so young. "What can I do for you, Angel Bob?"

"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve, sir."

"Achieve? We're not trying to achieve anything. We're just sitting here in our comfy chairs, taking in the view. It's rather nice in here, you know. A bit messy though. I'm thinking of remodeling, what'd ya think?"

The Angel ignored the meaningless conversation in favor of taunting. The words were gloating, even if the voice remained the hesitant respectfulness of Bob. "The Angels are feasting, sir. Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond."

"Oh, but you won't really. D'you know why?" the Doctor disagreed in the same pleasant, conversational tone. His voice only grew serious as he got to the warning, the words that never seemed to be a lie, despite how many adversaries refused to believe them. "I'm going to stop you."

"Six."

Viera didn't understand why the Doctor was suddenly so focused on her. His serious, dark brown eyes didn't leave her face as he spoke into the radio. "What have you done to Viera?"

"There's something in her eye," Angel Bob replied.

"What? What's in her eye?" the Doctor demanded.

"We are."

"What- What does that mean? That's not-" Viera stammered, denial rising up as a defense against the fear. "I've five_._" That hadn't come out right, had it? "I'm five. _Fine._ I'm-" But she wasn't, was she? Not really. Not when the Doctor was looking at her with such worry, his fingers tightening around the radio. _Don't freak out,_ Viera ordered herself, taking a deep breath. _Everything will be fine. It's not like you're dealing with this alone. And panicking never helps anything._ "Okay. What's wrong with me?" she asked the Doctor, managing a respectable amount of calm.

"You started counting down from ten a few minutes ago," he stated honestly.

_All right, not so bad, in and of itself but…_ "Why?"

The Doctor's mouth thinned unhappily, then he raised the radio to his mouth again. "Why is she counting down? And counting down to what?" he asked the Angel. His voice rose and fell as he picked at theories and discarded them aloud. "To your arrival? No, that's ridiculous, you've been trying to get to us for ages; can't expect you to be punctual there. No reason to plant a bomb on the ship; I get the impression you'd prefer to handle us yourselves. So why the counting?"

The Angel didn't answer, not exactly. "We shall take her. We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space," Angel Bob intoned.

"Oh, please," the Doctor scoffed. "There's power on this ship, but nowhere near that much. You're overreaching, Bob."

"With respect, sir, there is more power on this ship than you yet understand."

Without any warning a hideous racket filled the room. There was screeching, shrieking, scratching outside, like the sonic screwdriver at its worst mixed with the sound of nails against a chalkboard and the cry of a dying animal. Everyone flinched, eying the walls and ceiling worriedly.

"Dear God, what is that?" River asked.

Viera cringed and put a hand to her head. The sound felt like it was drilling into her mind. There was a buzzing in the back of her thoughts that spread into the power channels beneath her skin like an aching itch that couldn't be scratched.

"It's hard to put in your terms, Dr Song, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing."

Her stomach turned over as the sense of foreboding grew and grew, pressing against her thoughts like the worst sort of sinus headache. Something had been off since they reached the ship, she just hadn't been paying enough attention. Something was _wrong, wrong, wrong_, and she didn't understand. _Is the Angel doing this?_

"Doctor," Viera breathed.

He was too distracted to hear the soft call. "What do you mean?" the Doctor questioned over the radio. "Laughing _why_?"

Octavian returned from the forest, scanner in hand. "We've found a way out!" he yelled over the sounds of screeching. He waved his men into the trees before giving the Doctor an impatient frown. The Time Lord waved him off to focus on the radio.

"Why are they laughing, Angel Bob?"

"Because you haven't noticed yet. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed," the stolen voice taunted pleasantly.

The pressure was still growing and Viera couldn't take it much longer. "Doctor," she pleaded quietly, pressing her hands to her head is a desperate, useless attempt to hold herself together. Her knees gave way and suddenly the only thing holding her up were River's supporting arms.

"Viera!" Dr. Song echoed the Doctor's cry, and Viera was a little surprised to realize she heard just as much concern in the other woman's voice. Perhaps she wasn't a stranger to River after all; she'd wondered.

The sound of the sonic screwdriver resonated for a moment with the shrieking Angels outside as the Doctor scanned Viera. He muttered something that the TARDIS didn't translate, but his tone clearing turned the words into cursing. His hand wrapped around the radio with enough pressure to turn his knuckles white.

"Stop it. Whatever you're doing to her, just _**stop**__._"

"That's not us, sir," Angel Bob stated calmly. "Haven't you noticed? The legendary last of the Time Lords, can't you see it?"

The Doctor hissed between his teeth in frustration and changed the setting on the screwdriver. He scanned Viera again, then shifted his focus to the forest behind her. Realization began to creep over his expression as he finally turned to the wall behind him and the screwdriver grew shrill with new data.

There was a crack in the wall that hadn't been there before, glowing faintly. As though brought to life by the Doctor's notice of it, the light flared in something blinding and the crack began to spread wider.

"What is that?" Octavian questioned.

"A problem," the Doctor grunted before looking to River. "Get her away from here. That thing's spilling energy all over the place, and Viera can't handle it."

"Right," River agreed immediately. She pulled Viera's arm over her shoulders and steadied her with an arm around her waist. "Here we go."

There was whispering in the light. Viera couldn't make it out, but she felt like maybe if she just listened hard enough… She was hardly aware of being tugged out of the console room, her feet moving of their own accord. The pressure began to fade as soon as they started moving away from the light, but her strength continued failing all the same. She felt heavy and slow. Breathing began to get harder, like her lungs were reluctant to move.

"Viera? What's wrong?" River asked as the younger woman stopped trying to walk and basically collapsed against her.

"Four," Viera murmured, her energy gone. Only the fear remained undiminished by the sudden weakness. _What's happening to me?_

River lowered her carefully to the ground. Viera curled up on her side as hopelessness and lethargy dragged at her tired mind.

"Med-scanner, now!" River shouted to the clerics.

"Dr. Song, we can't stay here," Octavian objected even as one of the soldiers handed River the scanner she'd asked for. "We've got to keep moving."

"We wait for the Doctor."

"Our mission is to make this wreckage safe and neutralize the Angels," the Bishop argued.

"Well, I think that might have just gotten a bit trickier," the Doctor interrupted, jogging up to join them. "The Angels have gotten past the doors. And that light is bad news. Do _not_ go towards the light." His levity softened as he knelt next to Viera and snagged River's hand long enough to get a good look at the scanner she held. "Maybe not the best time to be taking a nap," he chided gently. His hand rested on her back, easing the worst of the panic.

"'M tired," Viera murmured. Even speaking took so much energy. "Heavy."

The Doctor lifted the radio back up to his mouth. "This isn't the time energy. What're you doing to her?"

"There's something in her eye," Angel Bob repeated with cryptic glee.

"Oh, yes, that's very helpful," the Doctor complained, though he didn't say the words into the radio. He jerked to his feet and started to pace. Viera missed the pressure of his hand immediately, but it helped to hear the continued timbres of his voice, no matter how worked-up he got. She watched him through half-lidded eyes.

"What went wrong?" the Doctor muttered to himself. "You looked into the eyes of an Angel too long. It got a grip on you. But how? _How?_"

"Sir! Angel, incoming!" one of the soldiers shouted.

"And here!" called another.

"Keep visual contact, do not let them move!" Octavian ordered. They were running out of time.

The Doctor groaned in frustration, pacing faster and spinning around quick enough to make Viera feel dizzy. His voice got louder and he wrestled with the problem. "What if it's not just a connection? What if it's something more? But how? You stared at an Angel…"

"The image of an Angel is an Angel," River stated, realization stealing across her face.

"Yes!" the Doctor cried, pointing to River. "Oh, I'm so thick! Of course! We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink and that's exactly what they want, cos as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside. A living image in a human mind. That's brilliant!" The Doctor flinched at his own enthusiasm and scrubbed a hand over his face. "And bad. That's very, very bad. There's an Angel in your mind," he added, turning back to Viera.

_Oh, I can feel it now, pressing closer. It's too strong. I can't- God, please…_ "I don't wanna die like this," Viera implored breathlessly.

"You're _not_ dying," the Doctor snapped, voice and gaze harsh and steady, as though he said it with enough certainty it'd be true. He stared at Viera a moment longer before raising the radio again. "Why are they making her count?"

"To make her afraid, sir," Angel Bob answered readily.

"Well good job with that," Viera muttered with a gasped laugh of near hysteria. River clutched tighter at her shoulders, trying to keep her calm or simply trying to hold her together. It helped a little. Viera tried to stamp down the terror a little. At least she wasn't facing the Angels alone. Anything was better than being scared and alone.

"Three," she whimpered.

"But why?" the Doctor demanded through gritted teeth.

"For fun, sir."

Viera watched dense, dangerous anger twist the Doctor's expression before it took a backseat to frustration. He tossed the radio aside, paced a few steps, then stopped to concentrate. He pressed the heels of his hands against the sides of his head and thumped them twice, as if trying to physically drive the answers out.

"Come on, think. Think," he ordered roughly.

"Think out loud?" Viera suggested when his frustration refused to abate. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear about all the things that were going wrong, but sometimes it seemed to help him to talk things through with somebody, even if that somebody didn't really understand everything he was saying.

The Doctor dug his fingers into his hair, pulling slightly. Then he dropped his hands with a quiet huff of air. "Inside your head, in the visual centers of your brain, there's an Angel. It's like- It's like that video of the Angel, except the screen is in your mind. It's trying to climb out."

_It's succeeding._ "We can't- How do you turn off a screen inside someone's head?" Viera asked. _We can't. It's not like he can just walk inside my head and pull the plug._ Even if he could, and it wasn't like he hadn't been inside her head before, she didn't like the thought of him in there facing an Angel with no defenses. She didn't voice the idea.

"We can't knock you unconscious; the Angel could just take over," the Doctor muttered, pacing in a tight circle.

_Pulling the plug didn't work anyways. I had to train the actual hardware._ "What if you killed me, then brought me back?" she asked shakily. It sounded like a terrible idea even as she said it, but it was better than nothing, wasn't it? "Like a reset."

"No." There was no room for negotiation in the Doctor's voice.

"Then what? Quickly!" River urged.

"We've got to shut down the vision centers of her brain. Starve the Angel."

"Two," Viera breathed.

"Doctor!" River rushed.

"How would you starve your lungs?"

"I'd stop breathing," River answered immediately.

"Viera, close your eyes," the Doctor ordered.

Fear, thick and hot rose up at the back of her mind. That was a bad idea. She didn't want to be in the dark. Viera shook her head with a quiet gasp. "No. I can't."

"Viera, listen to me. That's the Angel making you scared. It doesn't want you to do this, which is exactly why you have to. Close your eyes," the Doctor murmured. He knelt next to her again, confidence written across his face and a hint of pleading. He brushed the hair away from her face and let his hand rest on the back of her head. "Close your eyes. Trust me."

Viera hesitated one moment more, but she _did_ trust him. Like ripping off a bandage she slammed her eyelids shut before she could think about it any longer, and her world went dark.

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would just like to say THANK YOU to everyone who's reviewed andor stuck this story on their favorites list or story alert. I appreciate it more than I can say; it really does keep me going. =) So thanks, you guys are awesome.


	6. 11:6 A Light Worse than Darkness

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

* * *

><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**11:6 – The Treeborg Forest : "The Fog" by Strategic Music**

* * *

><p>PART ELEVEN – THE TIME OF ANGELS<p>

Chapter Six – A Light Worse than the Darkness

There was a soft beep from the medical scanner, then the sound of River's sigh of relief.

"She's normalizing. You did it!" River exclaimed.

"Sir? Two more incoming," one of the clerics called.

"Three more over here."

The fear had eased along with the worst of the heaviness. Viera no longer felt like she was being crushed inside her own mind. Carefully she sat up, feeling a dull ache in her muscles. "It's gone?"

The Doctor's hand curled around her shoulder to steady her. "Afraid not. It's paused, for the moment. Dormant. But if you open your eyes again…"

Viera took a shaky breath. "Right back where we started."

"Yeah. So keep your eyes closed, all right? We'll figure out a way to get it out of you. I promise."

Viera nodded and squeezed her eyes shut a little tighter. _Just don't open my eyes. I can do that. No problem._

"Doctor, we're too exposed here. We have to move on," Octavian stated.

_No problem except we're in the middle of a forest being hunted by the perfect assassins. Monsters that can only be stopped by sight. Fantastic time to be blind._

"She's still weak. It's dangerous to move her right now," River warned.

"Right." The Doctor took a deep breath and stood to look at the others. "Here's what we're gonna do. Bishop, you and your men are staying here. Stay together, keep watching the Angels, you'll be fine. This is as good a place as any to circle the wagons. Viera's staying with you. Keep her safe, do you understand? If anything, _anything_ happens to her, I will hold each and every one of you personally responsible. Twice."

"What? No. Wait," Viera protested. Panic fluttered in her chest again at the thought of being left behind.

The Doctor knelt in front of her again, taking both of her shoulders. "I don't like this either, but you'll be safer this way. We can't protect you well enough on the move. The clerics will keep you safe. You won't be alone. River and I, we have to go find the Primary Flight Deck and stabilize the wreckage. With the radiation gone, the Angels won't be able to feed anymore. We'll stop the Angels and we'll find a way to cure you. I just- I need you to stay here this time."

Oh, she didn't like that plan at all. Viera bit her lip but made herself nod. She tucked her arms around her middle, suddenly rather cold.

"I'll be back before you know it," the Doctor assured. Gentle lips brushed against her forehead. He was standing and out of reach before she'd even finished processing the brief contact.

"You," he called to a soldier. "Sit here. Talk to her. Do not, under any circumstance, let her open her eyes. I trust the rest of you can keep an eye on the Angels. River, come with me. Allons-y!"

Viera felt the log she was sitting on shift slightly as one of the clerics sat next to her. She offered a faint smile and tried to focus on the fact that she wasn't _alone._

"Doctor, I'm coming with you. My clerics can look after Miss Viera. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives in her protection," said Octavian.

Viera paled a few shades. _God, please don't let them die for me. I don't want that._

"I don't need you. You'll do more good here," the Doctor argued.

The bishop wasn't having any of that. "Where Dr. Song goes, I go."

"What, are you two engaged or something?" the Doctor asked curiously, already moving away.

"In a manner of speaking," Octavian hedged. "Marco, you're in charge till I get back."

"Sir!" the cleric agreed.

Viera listened to their footsteps fade away, silent for long moments before she finally turned to the soldier next to her.

"What's your name?"

"Crispin," the cleric answered shortly. He fidgeted a moment, not entirely used to being ordered to make conversation. "You're Viera, yeah?"

"Right," Viera agreed. Her mouth quirked in a wry smile, but she didn't know if he was even looking at her. "You know, you don't actually have to sit here and talk to me. I think the Angels are probably more important."

He stopped fidgeting. "I can see them from here, miss," he answered staunchly. "Viera," he corrected when she wrinkled her nose.

As awkward as it was to feel like she was distracting him from his job, Viera was grateful. "Thanks." Rustling from the woods tested her resolve to keep her eyes closed. "What's going on?"

"The Angels are still grouping," Crispin stated with practiced calm.

Viera nodded slightly and her thoughts drifted to the Doctor, wondering where he was, what he was doing, how long it'd take him to find a way to save them.

"Are you getting this too?" Marco asked.

"Here too, sir. They're ripping the Treeborgs apart," replied another cleric.  
>"And here. They're taking out the lights."<p>

That didn't sound good. "What's going on?" Viera asked nervously.

"They're messing with the trees, getting rid of the lights," answered Crispin.

"Angels advancing, sir."

"Over here, too."

"Weapons primed. Combat distance five feet. Wait for it!"

Viera stayed still and quiet while Crispin stood beside her, readying his weapon. She knew they were surrounded; if the lights went out it would be over in a heartbeat. She tried and failed to keep her imagination from picturing the Angels waiting to pounce, coming in for the kill. _God please, please keep us safe. Doctor, if you're going to pull off a brilliant save, now would be the time._

"Keep your positions!" called Marco.

There was a sudden, bright flare of light that registered even behind Viera's closed eyes. A migraine wrenched around her mind at the same time, dragging a hiss from Viera as she doubled over and clutched at her head.

"Viera? What's wrong?" Crispin asked immediately.

"The ship's not on fire, is it?" Marco questioned a short ways away.

"It can't be. The compressors would have taken care of it," replied another of the soldiers.

"It's not fire," Viera groaned. "It's the energy from that crack in the console room wall. It's getting stronger, spilling out."

"It's bad for you, isn't it," Crispin observed quietly. "Do we need to move you?"

"I don't- I don't know," Viera admitted. Moving would be dangerous, wouldn't it? It would be harder to protect their backs against the Angels, especially with her slowing them down. On the other hand, Viera wasn't certain how long she could handle the burning power she could feel reaching towards them, especially if it continued to get stronger.

"Marco, the Angels are gone," one of the clerics called.

"This side's clear too, sir," said another.

"Gone?" Viera murmured, trying to wrap her mind around the concept. "Gone where?" _And why?_

"There's still movement out there, but away from us now. It's like they're running," Marco stated.

_Oh that's a good sign._ "Running from what?"

"Phillip, Pedro, we need to get a closer look at that," Marco ordered rather than answering the question.

"A closer look at what?" Viera asked, her voice growing edgier with frustration and pain.

"The light," Crispin supplied.

"What? No! I _really_ don't think that's a good idea. That light, whatever it is, it's dangerous. If the Angels are running away from it, don't you think we should be running too?" Viera demanded.

"If the Angels are afraid of it, maybe we can find a way to use it against them," Marco stated, unyielding.

"You don't understand. There's something wrong with that light. It's _wrong_." She couldn't explain how she knew that, couldn't put into words how it was wrong, all that she knew was that it was a very, very bad thing. That energy made her skin crawl.

"It is making me feel kind of weird," Crispin admitted. "Sick, almost."

_I can relate._

"We need every advantage against those monsters that we can get," Marco insisted. "Crispin, keep an eye on her. I'm going to get a closer look."

"Wait!" Viera pleaded. "What about the other two? They haven't come back yet."

"What other two?" Crispin asked.

"What? Uh, Phillip. Pedro. You _just_ sent them to look at the light."

"I haven't sent anyone," Marco argued. "And there has never been a man by either of those names on this mission."

"I don't- But I heard you," Viera breathed uncertainly. _Just how badly is that energy scrambling my mind?_ Desperation curled through her veins. Either something was very wrong with her or something was very wrong with them. Either way, they had to get out of there. "I take it back. I can't handle this. I need to get further away from the energy."

Marco made a sound of frustration. "Here. Take the scanner; get her out of here. With the Angels running you should be all right," he told Crispin. "I need to take a closer look."

"Wait! Don't!" Viera implored, but she heard footsteps walking away.

"He'll be fine," Crispin promised. He tugged her to her feet then tucked her hands around his elbow so he could lead her without hampering his ability to fire the gun too badly. "Let's get you out of here."

She still felt a little wobbly and she hated trying to walk blind. Even with Crispin in front of her she felt like she was about to run into something with every step. Still, at least the headache was getting better.

"Why didn't they come back?" Viera wondered aloud. "We weren't very far from the console room; it couldn't have taken them that long to walk to the light. So why haven't any of them come back?" As they gained distance from the overflowing energy and her head cleared, she grew more and more certain that her memories of the missing soldiers were real.

"Who are you talking about?" Crispin asked.

"Phillip and Pedro," she insisted. "And Marco. He's had plenty of time too."

"Who's Marco?"

There was honest confusion in Crispin's voice and that was terrifying. "The other cleric! The Bishop left him in charge. He went to check on the light, remember? It was less than a minute ago!"

"I was the only one left to look after you," Crispin insisted, beginning to sound worried about her. "Listen, I think that like might be doing something to you. I need to go check it out."

"_No!_ No! Please, listen to me, I need you to stay here! That light is dangerous. Please!"

"I won't get to close, I promise. I just need to take a look."

"You won't come back. You'll disappear, just like the others."

"There weren't any others," Crispin said gently. He pried her hands away from his arm and pressed a radio into them. "Spare communicator. I'll stay in touch the whole time, all right?"

"Don't go," Viera begged. She reached for his arm again, but he was already too far away.

"I'll just be a minute!" Crispin called.

"Come back!" The sound of his footsteps grew farther away. "Darn it!" Viera hissed, fighting back frustrated tears. "Please come back."

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><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry, short-ish chapter. But hey, at least I posted it quickly. I've had most of the next chapter written since I started Viera's story, so hopefully that will be ready quickly too.<p> 


	7. 11:7 Saying Goodbye

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

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><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**11:7 – Remember Me: "Katrina" by Kerry Muzzey **

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><p>PART ELEVEN – THE TIME OF ANGELS<p>

Chapter Seven – Saying Goodbye

Viera fumbled with the radio, fingers clumsy with anxiety. "Crispin? Crispin, where are you? Hello?"

"I'm here. Don't worry so much," Crispin's gentle chiding came over the radio. "Everything's fine. I'm almost there."

_Not good. So very not good._ "That's close enough," she stated firmly. "Come back now. You need to come back."

"I just need to get a better look. It's strange, you know. The light's just-" Crispin's voice cut off abruptly, leaving her holding her breath.

"Crispin? Are you there?" Viera repeated into the radio. There was a soft sputter of static while she waited for a reply, then nothing. Silence. A tremor shook her body as it became more and more clear that she was truly alone. The Doctor was gone. The clerics were gone. There was nothing out there but Angels and the light that made her feel like part of her was dying. "Crispin? Crispin, _answer me!_ You weren't supposed to get too close. Please, please answer me."

The faint crackle of a connection on the other end of the radio made her heart leap.

"Viera?" the Doctor's voice broke the silence.

For a long moment she forgot how to breathe. "Doctor?" Viera murmured.

"Where are you? Are the clerics with you?"

Her voice shook briefly, then steadied. "No. They're gone. I'm- just a little ways from where you left me. Left us." She honestly didn't mean that to be an accusation, but she was a little worried it sounded like one. "The light, the energy from the console room, it's getting worse. The clerics went to get a closer look. I couldn't stop them. They never came back. I'm the only one left."

She could almost measure the expression that would be on his face by the length of the silence that followed. Her mind painted the grim determination on his familiar features and she took a deep breath for what was coming.

"Viera… I made a mistake. I should never have left you there. I'm sorry, I'm so _so_ sorry, but I need you to come to us. _Don't_ open your eyes!" the Doctor reminded sharply. "You're going to have to do this without looking."

_Alone in the dark with the Angels. If I'm in the middle of a nightmare, I'd like to wake up now please._

She wanted to tell him she couldn't, that she was too scared, too clumsy to manage blind and alone, but his voice was already low, strained with apology. He wouldn't be asking her to do it if he could see another way. Viera bit back her objections and stood unsteadily.

"Where are you?"

"Primary Flight Deck, other end of the forest," the Doctor replied.

"Have I mentioned that I don't have a sense of direction?" Viera asked shakily. It was bad enough when her eyes were open. She'd always been easily turned around, and in all the fuss with the Angel inside her and the terror that had caused, she was thoroughly lost already.

"It's all right," the Doctor assured, his voice soothing. If he was worried, he was hiding it well now. "Turn around slowly." Viera's brow scrunched up in confusion, but she obeyed. "When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, you're facing the right way. Follow the sound."

Viera finished her circle, stopping when the familiar sound overwhelmed the soft buzz of the radio.

"You need to start walking," the Doctor ordered gently. "There's time energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it."

Viera took a tense, staggering step. Her arms stretched in front of her to search for obstacles. Her imagination was working overtime drawing up holes in front of her feet and tree branches waiting to claw at her face and monsters in the spaces between. Which reminded her…

"What about the Angels?"

There was a moment of hesitation on the other side of the radio, the silence far more telling than the words that followed. "You've got some time. You'll be fine if you just keep moving."

_You can't know that._ Viera pushed aside the doubt and clung to the words anyways. She had to. She tried to latch onto another subject as her feet shuffled blinding forward. "The time energy. Why's it so important to stay ahead of that?" Another grim pause that almost made her take the query back. "It's not just the headaches, is it?" It wasn't really a question.

The Doctor's voice was quiet when he answered, a hint of desperation chasing after the words. "If the Time Energy catches up with you, you'll never have been born. It will erase your every moment. You will never have lived at all."

"Oh," she breathed, almost too stunned by that truth to really be afraid of it. "Well, I'd best keep moving then." Viera forced herself to walk faster. Risking a run in with a couple branches didn't sound so terrible all of a sudden.

"I'm scared of the dark. Did I ever tell you?" She murmured, swallowing back the panic tightening her throat. The talking helped a little. It gave her something to focus on besides the fact that she was in monster-filled woods with the death closing in on her. "I've always been scared of the dark." Maybe not the best thing the focus on though. _Moving on then._ Her thoughts were scrambled already, and in her anxiousness she let words fall from her lips without really thinking them through. "I love you." _Alright, perhaps moving on a little too quickly._

"Don't. Don't you start saying goodbyes," the Doctor's voice was harsh and angry over the faint static of the communicator.

"I'm not," Viera protested half-heartedly. She didn't want him to think she was giving up. "Or I am, but just in case." She knew she was rambling, but she didn't really have attention to spare on filtering her words as she shuffled along the uneven ground. "I did that back on Earth too, when that was home. Every time I got out of the car to go to school, every time I got done with a visit and was leaving, at the end of every phone call I'd remind my family I loved them, just in case. Because I wanted to make sure they always knew. Because life is so brief, so fragile and if something happened to me or to them, I wanted my last words to be I love you. Because I did. I do. Love you, I mean."

Viera took a moment to breathe and could almost _hear_ the Doctor trying to come up with a suitable reply to that on the other end of the line. Or perhaps he was distracted and not listening to at all. Either way she was suddenly not quite sure she wanted to know what he'd say.

"When this is over, when the Angels are gone and we're safe," Viera stammered, changing subjects abruptly, "you are taking me somewhere lovely. Somewhere we can _relax_ for a bit. Which means nothing out for our blood, all right? No running. I've had enough exercise for the week."

He was listening after all; she heard him chuckle and smiled reflexively in reply. "Anywhere you want, Viera," the Doctor promised.

"I want blue skies," she declared, trying to see them in her head instead of the constant black behind her eyelids and the strange shadowed forest beyond. "I want forests and mountains. Somewhere you can hear birds singing." Viera tripped over a root and cringed as she bit her tongue. Vicious words she wouldn't allow herself to say curled into an irritated growl, a flare of anger overtaking the fear for just a moment. She made herself keep going. "Glacier National Park. Back on Earth. Have you ever been there? My favorite place in the world. That world at least. Clear skies, teal lakes, green,_ green_ trees and white snow in the mountains. Oh, the mountains." Her voice had softened with fondness and longing; at the moment Viera felt she'd give most anything to be there, right then, with the Doctor at her side and no statues in sight. "There's rivers and waterfalls, flowers and wildlife, but it's the mountains that take my breath away. And there's people, but not too many. Roads and hiking trails only reach part way into the park. There's huge, wide swaths of land you can only get to by backpacking. I always wanted to try that, you know, but I never had anyone to go with…"

A twig snapped behind her. Leaves rustled in the path of something solid. Something was moving in the forest.

Viera tried to convince herself that it was all in her head. She talked faster, as though if she could drown out the soft sounds of movement they wouldn't be real. Her voice shook. "Have you ever been camping? Parking the TARDIS in the woods doesn't count, you know." It was all she could do to keep walking, keep talking. Instinct told her to open her eyes and flee before she simply froze up with fear. She didn't really have a fight response when she was the one in danger anyways. It was usually flee or hide. Acting even somewhat normal was taking everything she had.

"Viera," the Doctor's voice was calm, almost cheerful. Viera was too desperate to believe in his optimism to notice that it was forced. "I'm sending a bit of software to your communicator. It's a proximity detector. It'll beep if there's something in your way. You just maneuver till the beeping stops. It'll help you pick up the pace a bit."

"All right," Viera murmured, moving a bit faster. There was a soft beep when she nearly ran into a tree. She felt her way around the rough bark then kept walking, trusting her feet just a little bit more. She rambled as she went because she couldn't bear the silence.

"There's little enough light that you can really see the stars. I know we see them all the time out here, but there's something about see them framed by mountains and trees. Maybe because you know there's so much more that you can't see, so much possibility. That sky always made me feel so small, so… safe." Viera sounded a little too close to desperate, a little too close to crying with those last gasped words. She was alone in the dark with the monsters. She could hardly remember how it felt to be safe.

A shrill, rapid beeping sounded from the radio in her hand, completely different from the earlier warnings of trees. Viera stilled.

"Keep walking," the Doctor demanded immediately.

Her steps were hesitant, but she kept moving. She shifted slightly to the right until the beeping faded. "What is that?"

"It's a warning," the Doctor had that slightly grim, carefully calm tone he used when people were standing on top of a bomb or something. "You need to walk like you can see."

"Why?" A moment of silence. "Doctor?"

"The angels are there. Just keep walking like you can see. You'll be alright." Perhaps he heard the way her breathing faltered, because he kept talking. "Listen to me, Viera. I know this is hard, but you'll be all right. The Angels are running scared, and right now they're not that interested in you. They'll assume you can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is walk like you can see. Just keep your eyes closed. Keep walking. You're going to be fine."

_Help me. _Viera's voice shook, but she kept talking. Kept walking. She had to or the fear would paralyze her and she'd never move again. "Is that odd? That feeling small is comforting? I suppose it made my problems seem small too. Not… insignificant, but… manageable." The communicator beeped a warning and she flinched violently, then carefully edged around what she tried to pretend was just a tree in her way. "S-seeing how enormous creation is, how- extraordinary, it's a good reminder- of how big the Creator is, that- that He's greater than anything I might be facing." _Including angels_, she reminded herself. They could be right next to her and she wouldn't be able to see them. They could be…

Something caught in her hair. Viera tugged free with a sob-like gasp, spun around and stood shivering for a long moment. Silence.

"Viera? Are you still walking?" the Doctor's insistent voice pulled her from her frozen panic.

"Yeah," she whispered. It took everything she had to turn back around and take that first faltering step. There was a faint sound behind her. Like stone shifting on stone.

She wasn't going to make it out of the forest. Even if she could see, running wouldn't do any good. Terror threatened to pull pleading from her throat, but Viera smothered the urge. That wouldn't do any good either. She was going to die; they were going to snap her neck and there was nothing she could do about it. There was nothing anyone could do. _Oh, God. Oh God, oh God, oh God._ Last words. Better make them count.

"I miss my family," she murmured, not bothering to resist the tears that ran cold down her cheeks. It wasn't like anyone was there to see them anyways. Except the Angels. "So badly. I miss my mum and my dad. They've been gone for so long. I miss talking with Nadej. I miss Milost's hugs." Her throat closed up, strangling the words. Viera her lip hard enough to draw blood. She couldn't die without telling him. "But you know, given the choice… if I could go back and undo all of this, change things so I could live out my safe comfortable life on Earth never knowing what was out here…" _Oh to be back home right now._ "I wouldn't. I'd choose you. I'd choose this life. Even if I'd known it'd end here."

"Nothing's ending!" the Doctor snapped. "You're going to be fine!"

"I don't think I am," Viera whispered. The communicator beeped its warning, but she didn't need it. Stone ground against stone. She could hear them moving closer, in front of her as well as behind. Slowly. Whether it was because they weren't sure she could see or simply because they were enjoying her fear she didn't know.

"Viera..." the Doctor sounded angry, frustrated that she was giving up. She didn't want to explain that it was simply too late, that they already had her. She hated that she was going to become one more scar on the lonely wanderer's heart. She wanted to say sorry, apologize for not staying with him, for not being able to save herself.

"Remember me," slipped out instead, choked with her tears. Viera tripped over the rushed words, suddenly desperate to get them out while she still could. "If I'm right and there's heaven waiting after all, this isn't the end." It sounded pathetically sentimental but she needed to say it. Needed the Doctor to _believe _it. "I- I'll watch over you. So you _remember _me, you hear? You remember me when you're tempted to ignore the rules and play God. You remember me when things go wrong and you feel alone. Because you're not. I'll be there, okay? Always." She sounded breathless with fear, but it didn't matter. There were fingers in her hair, holding too tight to tug away. There were cold hands on her shoulders, on her throat. _Oh God._

Then the world shifted and she was in warm arms, River's voice telling her to keep her eyes closed, the Doctor's telling her she was safe.


	8. 11:8 Spoilers

_QUICK RECAP: In case there's anyone reading this who hasn't read the first two Viera stories, Viera is a human girl from the 20__th__ century. She fell through the rift, and ended up in the 52__nd__ century. There she met the Doctor aboard the shuttle on Midnight. After nearly dying together they felt they might be friends and agreed to meet up again. Viera nearly died again on a planet called Nenavist, used in an experiment that left her with unique power channels running through her body, mind and spirit. These leave her more vulnerable to odd surges of power (like the crack) or psychic energy. She also gained the ability to channel certain levels of power through her body, bending it to her will. It comes in handy from time to time. =) After the mess on Nenavist, Viera started travelling with the Doctor and they've been friends ever since._

_Now, on with the story…_

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><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**11:8 – The End of the Angels: "Catacomb" by James Dooley**

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><p>PART ELEVEN – THE TIME OF ANGELS<p>

Chapter Eight – Spoilers

The sensation of stone fingers closing around her throat remained. The voices around her almost didn't register at first.

"Don't open your eyes." River's command was gentled by sympathy as Viera clung to her, both hands wrapped around one of her arms. River's free arm was curled around Viera's back, holding her up or perhaps just trying to keep her from coming undone. Viera had never been more thankful for the warmth of another human being. "You're on the flight deck. I teleported you."

The Doctor was talking over her in his rush to calm Viera. "You're all right. You're safe. You need to keep your eyes closed, but you're going to be fine." She felt two hands rest on top of hers. They were cooler than River's human skin beneath her hands, but Viera felt a rush of warmth from their touch all the same. "You're going to be fine."

_The flight deck. I'm out of the forest? I'm- I'm safe? I'm really… Oh, thank God._

A muffled sob escaped her lips and she held her breath to keep more from following. Viera's whole body was shaking with emotion, fear and relief tangled too tightly around her to escape.

"You're safe, Viera. It's all right," River murmured comfortingly.

"Are you hurt?" asked the Doctor.

Viera shook her head. "Sorry. Just- I thought-" _I thought I was going to die._

A shrill alarm sounded overhead and she flinched. _We're not out of this yet. Pull yourself together. You can fall apart later, when it's really safe._ She shoved the jumbled emotions deeper, trying to clear her mind enough to process what was going on around her.

"What is that?" asked River.

The Doctor's hands squeezed Viera's once, then disappeared. She felt a pang of loss, but River was still there; something for which Viera would be forever grateful. By that point she was too emotionally wrung out to really feel the worry she probably should have when the Doctor explained.

"The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power. The shield's going to release."

"What shield?" Viera murmured.

"The one separating us from the forest," River stated. As thought prompted by her words there was a sudden hiss of releasing pressure, then the soft grind of moving metal.

_Oh. That shield. Lovely._

"Ah, Angel Bob, I presume. Delighted to make your acquaintance," the Doctor chirped.

Angel Bob was apparently not in the mood for pleasantries. "The Time Field is coming. It will destroy our reality."

"Right. And what are you doing? Running away! Some fearless assassins you are."

"There is a rupture in time," said Bob's stolen voice. Viera imagined she heard just the slightest hints of annoyance. "The Angels calculate that if you throw yourself into it, it will close and they will be saved."

Viera stiffened at the same time River did, but the Doctor was already speaking.

"True, I suppose I could," he mused. "But why would I want to?"

"Your friends would also be saved."

"There is that," the Doctor agreed calmly.

"That's not funny," Viera said sharply, suddenly terrified that he'd try. _Stupid, stubborn, self-sacrificing Time Lord._

"I've travelled in time," River spoke up. "I'm a complicated space/time event too. Throw me in." Her grip loosened and Viera found herself clutching rather desperately at the other woman.

"Nobody's jumping into the light!" Viera snapped. "What happens to the universe if you cease to exist? If you never existed?" _What happens to me?_ All the lives the Doctor had saved, changed, turned upside down, what would happen to them? And River, whoever she might be, she was _important_. She had a place in the Doctor's future. What would happen without her there?

"Sir, the Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now," Bob's voice intoned.

"It wouldn't have worked anyways," the Doctor informed, tilting his head towards Viera and River though he didn't look away from the Angels for a second. "Even if you jumped into the Time Field, which you won't, but if you did, it wouldn't do any good. You're not complicated enough. As a space/time event, I mean. In every other sense, I'm sure you're tremendously complicated. As a matter of fact, closing that crack, even temporarily, will take such a complicated event that I'm the only possible solution." He sounded so matter of fact, like he wasn't worried at all. Viera wasn't sure how to read that, but surely, _surely_ if he was really planning on dying she'd be able to tell.

"Welll," the long, drawn out would had never sounded sweeter, "not quite the _only_ solution, but it would take every single one of the Angels to create enough counterbalance to stabilize the Time Field and I don't think they're going to be volunteering any time soon."

"You will come with us now, sir," Angel Bob stated more insistently.

"Do you know what the funny thing is?" the Doctor asked, taking carefully casual steps away from the statues. "If the Angels weren't such greedy creatures, we'd really be in a bind. But because they are, because they just couldn't help themselves, they've drained all the power from this ship. The shields aren't the only thing that's failing."

Viera heard a sharp intake of breath beside her as River realized what was going on. The other woman grabbed Viera's hands and curled them over a bar of metal.

"Don't let go. Whatever happens, don't you let go," River ordered lowly.

"Do you know what's one of the last thing to go on a ship like this is?" the Doctor chirped, backing up to the consoles where there were plenty of handholds. "The gravity! This ship is tipped straight back towards that Time Field, and you're gonna have a bit of a tough time hanging onto anything like that. Shame about that 'perfect defense'." There was a hint, just a hint of sympathy beneath the cheerful relief, but that didn't stop him from locking his gaze on them. "Goodbye!"

The gravity gave out on cue. Viera gave a startled squeak despite being warning as the whole world shifted and suddenly she was hanging from the bar with nothing but emptiness everywhere else around her. There were sounds of rushing and breaking branches, heavy things falling through the trees. Abruptly Viera's headache had gone. It had been pressing against the back of her mind, buried beneath the fear for so long that she'd forgotten about it. Having it suddenly absent was an almost overwhelming relief.

The encroaching Time Field was gone.

"They're gone," the Doctor called, closer than Viera had expected. "You can open your eyes now. All of them are gone, even the one in your mind. It never existed, Viera."

_Um, no._ "You're kidding, right," Viera protested, panic crawling up her throat. "I can't just- You told me not to open my eyes."

"And now I'm telling you it's safe. _That Angel never existed._ It's not in your mind anymore."

"I can't." Viera flexed her fingers around the bar keeping her from falling as her palms began to sweat.

"Sure you can," the Doctor stated. He definitely didn't _sound _worried. Clanking sounds followed a soft grunt as he pulled himself on top of the console and carefully made his way closer. There were creaks and a quiet mutter as River climbed to somewhere more secure as well.

Viera shook her head frantically. "I remember the Angel. If I remember it, how can it never have existed?" A new thought occurred to her and she latched onto it quickly. "And Bob. If the Angel never existed, Bob would still be here. All the people they killed, they'd all still be here. Why aren't they?"

"They never had reason to come in the first place. I'm sure they're off safe somewhere, protecting one world or another."

"But then why are _we_ still here? You and me and River, we wouldn't have had reason to come either. And why do we remember?"

The Doctor hummed the way he did when he was trying to figure out what to say. She could imagine the expression that went with that sound, the way he scrunched up one side of his face in thought. "It's complicated," he answered finally. "We're time travelers. We remember things differently. We react to things differently. When things change the timelines twist and some of them stay tangled in this mess of… timey-whimey… stuff, and we're tangled with them." Viera wrinkled her nose at the incomparable answer and heard the Doctor huff in faux annoyance. "It's complicated. And you're just trying to change the subject."

"I'm scared." Viera admitted quietly. The console she was clinging to creaked quietly beneath the Doctor's weight. Steady hands curled around her wrists and she took a deep breath.

"Do you trust me?"

"Doctor…"

"Do you trust me?"

How was she supposed to refuse that? "You keep using that," Viera complained. Slowly, flinchingly she opened one eye, then the other to find familiar brown eyes staring into her own. She breathed a shaky sigh of relief when nothing happened. Her mind was entirely her own once more. The angel was really, truly gone.

"Keeps working," the Doctor pointed out. Viera narrowed her eyes at him in irritation but couldn't quite fight back the smile that always emerged at the sight of his grin. "Told ya you'd be fine."

"Yeah," agreed Viera quietly. There had been so many close calls, so many others lost. She could have so easily have been among them. Shadows flickered across the Doctor's expression as though he knew her thoughts, and Viera found she missed the smile. She forced a small grin to her own face and found that it wasn't as fake as she'd thought it might be. "You owe me a camping trip."

The Doctor huffed. "I was hoping you'd forget about that," he grunted, leaning back as he helped haul her upwards. She clambered awkwardly onto the console, risking a brief look over her shoulder. The forest looked as surreal as the first time she'd seen it, framed by the metal of a spaceship. Heavens, that was a long way down.

"Perhaps we'd best get out of here before you two start planning your next trip," River spoke up. They both looked over to see Dr. Song lounging rather comfortably against the other control board. She smirked at them.

"Right," the Doctor agreed. "After you, Dr. Song."

"Planning on enjoying the view?" she asked, grinning like a Cheshire cat when the Doctor grew flustered.

"No- That is not- Now you-," he pointed his finger at River, but the sternness was completely ruined by his sputtered words. "You are _both_ going ahead of me so I can make sure neither of you slip and fall to your deaths!"

"Exactly the view I meant," River purred over her shoulder as she began her climb. Viera turned red, left to climb up behind her.

The Doctor gave an almost inaudible growl. He rubbed at his temples with one hand, momentarily covering his eyes as he waved upwards. "Go on then."

It wasn't like she had another choice. Viera started climbing, trying very hard to pretend that she heard neither the Doctor climbing behind her nor River's muted laughter up ahead. At least she wasn't wearing a skirt.

It was a very long climb. Even embarrassment aside, the ship simply wasn't made to be climbed from bow to stern. It was hard to find handholds and footholds close enough to be feasibly useful. It took so very creative stretching and all three of them working together to finally get out, but eventually they made it to a door in the stern of the ship that let them out into the ruins that breached the surface.

Sunlight had never been more beautiful.

The battered trio made their way out of the ruins to the beach below. A camp made up of dark green tents, armored vehicles and busy soldiers still lay tucked between the rocks at the edge of the sand.

"Hello! Over here!" River called, waving an arm and jogging a few steps ahead. Some of the soldiers turned their heads and the noise below grew as they alerted the others.

Viera leaned closer to the Doctor to whisper. "If the Angels never existed, why are the clerics here?" He shot her a longsuffering look that was just a bit condescending, suggesting that she probably wouldn't understand even if he explained. Viera rolled her eyes. "Right. It's complicated." She glanced at the clerics again, unable to help looking for familiar faces. Not that she remembered their faces all that well, but she remembered _them_.

Sorrow curled around her heart. "Even if the people the Angels killed aren't dead anymore, the ones that walked into that light…"

"I'm sorry, Viera," the Doctor sighed. That was answer enough. She nodded her understanding and pushed the painful thoughts aside.

They were soon surrounded by soldiers, asking questions, offering aid. Viera let the Doctor and River tell the story, wrapped in a warm wool blanket and sticking close to them both. Neither of them seemed to mind.

By the time the soldiers were satisfied, River was back in cuffs and the camp was all packed up. The adrenaline had all but died out and Viera felt exhausted. She leaned against the Doctor as he eyed the cuffs around River's wrists.

"What now?" he asked curiously.

"The prison ship's in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time." River shrugged and smiled. "We'll see."

"River Song," the Doctor mused. "Octavian said you killed a man." Viera straightened with a sharp intact of breath and the smirk on River's face faded away.

"Yes. I did," she admitted. "A good man. A very good man. The best man I've ever known."

Viera felt her face go pale as she looked between River's regretful expression and the almost-knowing curiosity of the Doctor. _She can't mean- She wouldn't. River wouldn't._

"Who?" the Doctor prodded.

"Why?" Viera breathed.

River gave her a look as much sympathy as sorrow before she covered it up with a smile. "It's a long story. Can't be told. It has to be lived. No more spoilers." The smile grew genuine. "Well, except for this one: you'll see me again quite soon, when the Pandorica opens."

"Oh please," the Doctor scoffed, though he sounded intrigued despite himself. "That's a fairytale."

River laughed. "Aren't we all?"

"River," Viera murmured, still caught in the fear of what River hinted might be coming. _But she __**can't**__ be talking about the Doctor. She can't kill- She wouldn't. She can't._

The older woman's smile was more mischievous than apologetic, and Viera began to convince herself that she had imagined the sorrow before.

"I'll see you there," River stated, including them both with her gaze. "It'll be a night to remember." A warning beep came from her handcuffs. "Oh! I think that's my ride."

They began to step away, but Viera hesitated. Even with the worry in her heart, she couldn't help but feel a pang of loss at River's departure after everything they'd been through. Impulsively she darted forward and gave the other woman a swift hug.

"Goodbye," Viera murmured.

"We'll be seeing you, Dr. Song," the Doctor called as Viera rejoined him.

River grinned. "Oh, you have no idea." She laughed, bright and joyful as a brilliant light engulfed her and then she was gone.

They watched the ocean a heartbeat longer before turning back towards the TARDIS. "Doctor," Viera started, her voice filled with concern. The Doctor slung an arm around her shoulders and offered a smile.

"Time can be rewritten, remember? No use worrying about every possibility. You'll give yourself wrinkles," he chided.

_Even when it's a timeline we're already involved in?_ Viera kept the question to herself. He was right on one account anyways; there was no use worrying. _And even if River meant… what it sounded like she meant, how is that any different from the prophesy? Even if, __**if**__ she killed- will kill… Who's to say he'd stay dead?_

"All right, now about that camping trip…"

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah, I don't really get the logic behind the Time Field and how it can make people disappear without making things <em>completely<em> different. There were still clerics on the beach at the end of the episode and River mentioned maybe getting a pardon, so the soldiers had to know about the Angels, even though they "never existed". Right? If anyone has a better theory than "it's complicated" I'd be happy to hear it. ^^; But I couldn't come up with anything clearer.


	9. Interlude: Blue Skies

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

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><p><em>Supplemental Soundtrack:<em>

**11.5:1 – Glacier: "Summit Trail" from Going to the Sun**

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><p>INTERLUDE: THE MOMENTS BETWEEN<p>

Blue Skies

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><p>"You know, we could get to that waterfall in about three seconds with the TARDIS," the Doctor pointed out. They were halfway up a mountain trail and he was beginning to look a bit too warm in his suit and long coat.<p>

"The journey's just as important as the destination," Viera argued. She turned around to grin at him, throwing her arms wide. "Just look at this place! Isn't it amazing?" And it was. It really, really was.

The dirt path pressed close against the side of the mountain, winding back and forth through the bright green underbrush. Sunlit blue skies played backdrop to the tall evergreens that stretched overhead. The forest was thick enough to provide shade but not so thick that it hid the mountains that obscured the horizon. For Viera it felt a bit like heaven on earth.

A fond smile stole across the Doctor's lips. "Yeah, all right. It is brilliant. But it's hot, and I'm getting… _sticky_," he complained with a comical grimace. Viera took the camera hanging around her neck and snapped a quick picture.

"I told you to leave that coat in the ship. And the suit. Would it kill you to wear summer clothes like the rest of the tourists?" Viera teased. She was perfectly comfortable in a tank top and shorts, but she had to admit she had a bit of trouble picturing the Doctor in anything of the sort. The cool breeze tugging locks of brown hair loose from her ponytail couldn't do the Doctor much good beneath all those layers. "You know if you took off your coat, jacket and tie, and unbutton that shirt a bit, you might feel a little better."

"But then I have to carry them," the Doctor grumbled. Viera tried and failed to look properly sympathetic as he grudgingly removed his layers and layers of clothing until he was left with his slacks and light blue dress shirt.

"At least you're wearing proper shoes," she offered cheerfully, starting to walk up the trail again.

"There is that."

"How on earth did you manage with that coat in the desert?" Viera wondered, dragging up vague memories of the bus crash on another world.

"Lower body temperature. And I didn't have to climb a mountain in the desert."

Viera chuckled. "It's not really mountain climbing so much as… walking slightly uphill," she pointed out. "_I_ think it's just because there isn't a world-ending crisis to distract you here."

"Oi, you make it sound like I-"

"Thrive on the chaos?" Viera finished cheekily. "Oh, I could never accuse you of that."

The Doctor huffed. "Very convincing Miss Mier." She threw a grin over her shoulder, and he shook his head at her.

A butterfly landing on a stalk of flowers caught Viera's attention. The orange and white stood out brilliantly against the pure white of the dozens of star-shaped flowers clustered around a single stem like sequence on a wedding dress. She paused to take a picture; the Doctor stopped behind her and peered over her shoulder. Suddenly all she was aware of was how close his face was to hers.

"Xerophyllum tenax, isn't it?" he observed.

"What?" Viera responded vaguely. The Doctor reached around her to pluck a tiny white flower from its stem, effectively putting a bit of distance between them and suddenly she could think clearly again. Not that that made the question any easier to answer. "Was that even English?"

"Xerophyllum tenax. Beargrass," he clarified.

"Oh. Yeah, I've heard it called that before." Viera shook her head, silently scolding herself. She took a deep breath and put a bit more space between them. "Come on. I think I hear the waterfall."

* * *

><p>They spent a magnificent two days exploring Glacier. It was exactly the vacation that Viera had needed. They hadn't even had to do any running. There <em>had<em> been a brief run-in with a grizzly bear, but after a blast of sound from the sonic screwdriver, the massive predator had decided they weren't worth bothering after all. While Viera never managed to talk the Doctor into _actually_ camping with a tent and sleeping bags and all, he quite amiably allowed her to drag him all over the park.

They took one of the short red tourist buses up the Going to the Sun Road, wandered all over the trail system taking pictures of mountain goats and big horned sheep. They used the TARDIS to get to all the hidden lakes in the higher altitudes. They made friends with a myriad of tourists from all over the country. It was incredible. When Viera noticed the Doctor beginning to get antsy she was quite content shoo him back into the ship and tell him to find an adventure before he combusted excess energy. She felt refreshed and tranquil and finally safe again.

She should have known it wouldn't be long before the peace was broken.


	10. Interlude: War

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

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><p><em>Supplemental Soundtrack:<em>

**As War Builds: "Rising From the Depths" by Epic Score**

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><p>INTERLUDE: DREAMS OF GALLIFREY<p>

War

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><p>A burning ship fell out of the sky and plowed through the buildings below with a horrific roar of tearing metal and shattering stone. Viera cringed as voices screamed, though she could barely hear them over the sounds of destruction. There were other ships overhead in the night sky, far beyond the atmosphere. Many were TARDIS', though they looked nothing like the blue box so dear to hear own heart. They were all damaged, broken, torn apart by the beams of light coming from the other ships. Dalek ships.<p>

Horror would have kept her still, staring up at the sky, but a voice on her right called her attention back to the devastation the fallen ship had caused. Drawn by her comrade's urgency, she followed suit as he and others raced towards the wreckage, desperate to find some way to help those that had survived.

A shadow grew overhead. Viera looked up to see a ship silhouetted against the grey moons in the sky. A second ship was falling, fire flaring around its hull in the friction of the atmosphere. Falling too fast, far too fast to run from. It came down upon them and Viera felt a surge of panic, a flash of pain, then nothing. Darkness. Death.

There was a bright flare of light from somewhere unseen; it twisted through her awareness, blinding against the darkness. She _felt_ time reverse, and the emptiness of death was filled with a nauseating sense of overwhelming wrongness. It was worse than the seeing the ship fall on top of her. Everything inside twisted as time bent back on itself.

The ship was back in the sky with the others, Viera and her comrades were back where they started, farther from where the ship would crash. But perhaps not far enough. They glanced at each other then started running the other way, trying to put some distance between themselves and their deaths.

They ran straight into a trap. A handful of metallic voices shouted "Exterminate!" in near unison and half her companions cried out and fell. The rest of them turned to face the Dalek's they'd run into, reaching for their own weapons. Behind them Viera heard the awful racket of the ship crashing, the one that had killed them before. Two of the Daleks fell in the wake of the Time Lords' attacks, large chunks of their armor missing. The others shot again and again at the small cluster of Time Lords and Viera watched they screamed and died one by one.

She ran, grabbing the hand of the only other survivor to drag them with her. The Daleks gave chase, but while they were relentless and tireless, they were also slower. Viera and her comrade dodged around buildings and rubble as fast as they could until the shouts of the Daleks faded away.

Then time twisted again.

One moment bled into another, the linear planes crumpled and past, present, future meant nothing anymore. She could see fragments, whispers of other lives, other deaths. A starry sky filed with the debris of countless shattered ships, the burning pyres of mass funerals, the remnants of broken worlds, sitting huddled on a battlefield amidst the bodies of friends…

Viera was back to where she'd been again, running from the Daleks with the only other survivor. She thought maybe they'd gotten away, but then her companion tripped and an explosion went off, far too close. Her world went up in flames.

She was one of the bodies, lying in that field as the Daleks lay waste to the unfortunate planet where they'd make their stand. Everything was burning.

* * *

><p>Viera woke gasping. The darkness around her seemed to reel and her stomach churned. She rolled out of bed, collapsing when the sheets caught at her legs. Her insides lurched. She pulled loose and scrambled to her feet, running to the bathroom with just enough presence of mind to hit the light switch as she passed. Viera made it to the toilet just in time for her stomach to try to turn itself inside out.<p>

The scent of ozone and burning flesh still clung to her nostrils. Since when were her dreams so vivid that she could smell them?

She retched until the scent of death began to fade. Viera sat on the bathroom floor for some time after her stomach was empty. She didn't want to think about her nightmare, but it was all she could see every time she closed her eyes. There was no way she was going to be able to go back to sleep.

Tentatively she climbed to her feet. When the nausea failed to return, Viera relaxed a little more and rinsed out her mouth at the sink. She splashed cold water on her face, finally exorcising the feel of flames against her skin. Then she turned out the lights and left her room.

The TARDIS hallways were always well-lit. The Doctor didn't need as much sleep as she did, nor did he need a regulated cycle of day and night to keep track of time. It had been a bit disorienting for Viera at first, but she eventually learned to stop worrying about what time it was and simply listen when her body told her it needed sleep.

Viera was on her way to the control room, hoping to find the Doctor awake and tinkering with something. She didn't really want to be alone with the memories of dream-ghosts screaming in the back of her mind. Sounds of clattering metal and quiet cursing made her detour to the kitchen.

She stood in the doorway a moment, a bemused smile creeping across her lips as she watched the Doctor search the cupboards for something, muttering to himself. He was wearing blue plaid pajama pants and a loose shirt; frankly he looked incredibly human at the moment. She waited until his bent head was safely away from cupboard doors before speaking.

"Lose something?"

The Doctor spun around, a pan and a jug of milk clutched in one hand and a tin in the other.

"Just found it actually," he replied with a brief, sheepish smile. "Sorry, did I wake you?" He turned to put the pot on the stove and set the milk down to open the tin.

"No. Bad dream," Viera explained quietly.

The Doctor shot her a sympathetic glance and waved a cinnamon stick from the tin at her. "Want some?" He gestured behind him. "Warm milk and cinnamon: Donna's cure for insomnia."

A smile flittered across Viera's expression and she nodded with a murmured 'thanks'. She could all too easily imagine Donna forcing the Doctor to sit in the kitchen while she heated milk and standing over him until he drank it, mothering with her odd mix of gentle forcefulness. Viera wondered how many kids she'd end up with. She hadn't talked to Wilf since she'd called him to let him know the Doctor was okay after his near-regeneration. She should really get in touch again.

Viera watched the Doctor turn on the stove and wondered whether she should tell him about her dream. He'd been so sure the last time that there had been nothing left from the Master. Maybe her own imagination was just getting more twisted. She should probably just be grateful she hadn't been dreaming about angels.

A grimace twisted her face at that thought. "If the weeping angels' images can become real angels, does that include imagined images? What if I dream about them?"

The Doctor looked vaguely horrified by the idea, but after a moment of consideration he shook his head decisively. "It'd have to be something that can be seen with the eyes. Their reproduction relies on the section of the brain that translates information from the optic nerve. They can't become real in your mind."

"Good," Viera sighed, glad to be done with that disconcerting topic. The Doctor poured two mugs of warm milk and sat down across from her at the small kitchen table.

"Couldn't you sleep either?" she asked, thinking that he had looked a bit paler than usual when she'd first walked in. There were still lines of strain around his eyes if she looked closely.

The Doctor shrugged and took a sip of his milk.

"Bad dream?" Viera didn't quite understand her need to press further, but it was frustrating sometimes, knowing he kept so much buried. She wanted to know him better. He made a face, which she took to mean 'yes'. "Sometimes it helps to talk about it," Viera offered. As much as she meant the offer to listen, she rather expected him to turn that around and ask about her dream instead.

She felt like the world had dropped out from under her when he answered with something she hadn't anticipated.

"I dreamed about Gallifrey, about the Time War," the Doctor stated quietly. He was studiously staring into his mug and so didn't see the way his companion paled. "There were so many dying, burning, exterminated by the Dalek." His words turned harsh and bitter and sad, but Viera could hardly focus on anything except the facts suddenly staring her in the face. "Then time would shift and they'd come back, just to die again. Over and over and over."

"That's awful," Viera managed to choke out. And it was. Their screams were burned into her memory. _Her_ memory, where they didn't belong at all. "Do you dream of Gallifrey often?"

The Doctor shrugged a shoulder, turning his cup round and round in his fingers. "Occasionally. It isn't always dying though," he offered, trying for a somewhat cheerier tone. "I dreamed of red fields and silver forests the other night. I could still smell the Schelenk Blossoms when I woke." His tone had turned wistful; Viera couldn't even properly enjoy the fact that he was opening up.

It wasn't the Master's memories she was invading; it was the Doctor's.

She hadn't meant to dig into his mind. She'd knowingly offered up her own thoughts and memories, but the Doctor had made no such deal. It had to be the Obetovat though. Nothing else had changed before the dreams started. It hadn't happened with Ianto or Stephen, but maybe she'd done something wrong when she'd used it on the Doctor. Maybe it had happened because she did want to know him better. Or maybe it was just because Ianto and Stephen were so far away and the Doctor was only a few steps down the hall.

_I should tell him. He deserves to know. But what if— What if…_

What if he couldn't stand the thought of her seeing his dreams, memories that should have been private? What if he asked her to leave? Fear robbed her of any urge to explain.

Some part of Viera knew that she was overreacting, but she still couldn't bring herself to tell him. Maybe she was wrong and it was just a very strange coincidence. Or maybe it would go away on its own and the Doctor would never have to know.

If it kept happening… Well, she'd deal with that then.

"Was it much like Earth?" Viera asked as normally as she could manage.

The Doctor looked at her then, but he took her strained expression to be the sympathy it would have been on any other night. He smiled faintly, willing to dwell on the happier memories for the moment, despite the longing they provoked.

"Somewhat. It was drier, for the most part. Hot, like a desert, but it was _beautiful._"

Viera relaxed slowly, her worries fading as he told her of things she hadn't seen in her dreams.

"If you stood at just the right spot, you could see the Citadel between the trees, the Endless Mountains of Solace and Solitude in the distance."

"Endless mountains?"

"The range extended around the whole of the planet, like a crown on the head of a king…"


	11. 12:1 An Unexpected Twist

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

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><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**12:1 – Shades of Grey: Saxon's Determination: "Vindication" by James Dooley**

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><p>PART TWELVE<p>

Chapter One – An Unexpected Twist

"Oh, put him in a cat's body," the Doctor quoted their sales technician with great derision. "It'll be so much safer! What harm could he possibly do as a _cat!_"

The answer, of course, was quite a lot. Sparks sprayed from chewed-through wires beneath the console. The TARDIS rocked violently from side to side, unbalancing the Doctor as he valiantly scrambled around the controls, trying to put them all in order again.

From where she stood clinging to the railing, Viera glared at the large white and grey cat who had attached himself to the bench with his sharp little claws. The scratches on Viera's hands and arms stung anew at the reminder.

"You know, with as worried as that man was about putting that madman in a 'safe' body, you'd think he would have at least had him declawed," Viera complained over the blaring alarms. She yelped as the ship jerked to one side, nearly sending her tumbling.

"No, no-no-no-no!" The Doctor was thrown back from the console just in time to avoid a small explosion. The TARDIS had just about had enough of the abuse. An angry mutter in Gallifreyan slipped past the Doctors lips and he shot the cat a dark look before throwing himself back at the console. The feline snarled back, the sound of his growl lost in the chaos.

"We should have left you in that box," Viera grumbled, half-serious. The Time Lord-turned-cat turned his green-eyed glare on her and hissed again.

Harold Saxon, also known as the Master, did not seem to like being feline.

The day hadn't started out so badly. Viera had woken feeling rested & at ease. She hadn't intruded on any more of the Doctor's dreams and had quite convinced herself that it had been a fluke, something that wouldn't be repeated. The TARDIS had been humming contentedly at the back of her mind as she got ready for the day, and the faint echo of double heartbeats in the stone she wore around her neck had assured her that all was well. All in all the day had seemed off to a promising start.

Viera really should have known better.

_~~~~~~~~~~~Several Hours Earlier~~~~~~~~~~~_

Viera let the sound of quiet muttering lead her down the hallway to the control room. The Doctor was there, staring at the computer monitor with almost alarming intensity. Viera couldn't quite make out whether it was worry or excitement brightening his gaze.

"Everything all right?" she ventured.

"Fantastic!" the Doctor exclaimed, turning to her with a slightly twitchy grin. "Wellll, probably. Hopefully."

"Hopefully?" Viera echoed.

The Doctor rubbed absently at the back of his neck. "I think I've found a way to get the Master into a new body."

_Oh._ Viera swallowed. "Oh. That's… good."

The Doctor's hesitant enthusiasm faded a bit more at her obvious uncertainty, but he forged ahead determinedly.

"I know it might be a bit, well, tricky. But we can't leave him in there forever," he stated with a wave at the Vodivost box.

_Why not?_ Viera knew better than to voice the protest. What was the point of saving the only other Time Lord left if he was going to stay trapped in stasis? She bit her lip and eyed the box doubtfully. "How?" she asked instead.

The Doctor turned the screen her way, giving her a view of a galaxy she didn't recognize. "There's a factory on this planet that creates artificial bodies. It's mostly for the disabled, people who've lost limbs and such. Or at least that was how it started. It's gotten rather more superficial over the last century or two, people choosing whole new bodies because they want to be taller or don't like the color of their hair or their wrinkles, though it's not like they can really avoid aging all that long that way; it only works twice after all." He caught sight of Viera's bemused expression and took a deep breath. "Right. Anyways. I haven't said anything before now because I wasn't entirely sure the process would be effective with the form the Master's currently in, but I've run all the scenarios, and it _should_ work." He gave her a sheepishly optimistic grin. "We could at least take a tour of the place, right?"

"Right," Viera echoed rather less than enthusiastically. It was inevitable, she supposed, that they'd have to deal with the Master again. It was just… things had gone so badly last time. So very, very badly.

Still, no use borrowing trouble. She tried for a little more optimism. "Do you think he'll still hear the drums?"

The Doctor paused in setting the coordinates for the planet. "I don't know," he stated honestly. "But at least he'll know what they are, why they're there. That has to be worth something."

"Yeah," she agreed. _Maybe. If he's feeling more rational than the last time we met._

Viera was quiet during the short trip through time and space. She tried not to think too much about all the ways things could go very wrong with releasing the other Time Lord, but she had little success.

They stepped out of the TARDIS into brightly lit lobby. Larger-than-life advertisements flashed across massive screens around them, fortunately silent.

"Hello!" The voice that greeted them sounded one part friendly and two parts curious, but when they turned around to see a young man with a light blue uniform and a nametag that labeled him as "Chryz, Tour Guide & Sales Technician", he politely didn't ask where they'd come from. "Welcome to foremost facility in Artificial Adaptation in the Ridgelline Gallaxy. How can I help you today?"

"We've got a… friend who's in need of a new body," the Doctor stated cheerfully.

"Ah, excellent. Will that be a restructuring or…?"

"No, he's going to need one from scratch." The Doctor glanced at Viera and shifted his weight in the slightest hint of unease. "We haven't quite decided whether this is the best time to do this. Maybe we could get a quick tour? Take a look around?"

"Of course!" Chryz exclaimed. He couldn't possibly be that happy to have to show them around, but he managed a rather good imitation of excitement. "Just a few forms to fill out first."

They made up most of the information on their visitor registration forms and were promptly given limited access badges. Just like that they were on their way. Chryz took them through the basic facilities first, where a couple dozen technicians stood at various computers overseeing the creation of artificial limbs. Chryz explained the process and the science behind it; Viera felt her thoughts drifting. She couldn't seem to stop herself from running worst-case scenarios through her head. What if the Master was just as crazy and power hungry as ever? What if he still wanted an army of himself? They were in an artificial body factory; how hard would it be for him to create his own little army there? What if he went after Earth again? They were going to have to let him into the TARDIS at some point, unless the Doctor intended to _leave_ him at the factory; what if he took control of the ship? Viera was sure he was quite capable of destroying all of time and space in the wrong mood.

She was still imagining the consequences, each more awful than the last, when the Doctor stopped abruptly in front of her and she ran into his back. He looked back at her with raised eyebrows, not sure if he should be amused or concerned. Viera wrinkled her nose at him and he grinned.

Their silent interaction went unnoticed by Chriz, who was busy wrapping up his tour.

"And that is how we put on the finishing touches." Chriz finally stopped walking and turned around to smile invitingly at them. His tone turned cajoling. "If you'd like to start designing your friend's new 'home', we _could_ start right away."

The Doctor eyed the equipment and computers behind him with interest. "Hmm, well, it might be best if we talked it over first. Big commitment, and all. Give us a minute?"

"Of course; of course." Chriz shooed them towards an empty corner of the room and hurried off to pick up the forms for the extravagant purchase he was hoping they'd make.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Viera couldn't help blurting out the question as soon as they were more or less alone. "After everything he did? He could have killed you, us. He nearly single-handedly wiped out the human race. That's just the trouble he caused _on purpose_. And when I mentioned him to _Jack-_"

The Doctor cringed. "I know. I _know._ But he hasn't always been like that. And things have changed. The drums, if he even still hears the drums, he knows they're real and he knows why he's hearing them."

"But what if he still wants-" Viera broke off with the realization that she really didn't have any idea what the Master truly wanted. She switched to another issue instead. "What if he gets control of the TARDIS. We can't watch him every minute of every day. And with all the trouble we get into, all it would take is for him to decide, just for a moment, to complicate things and everything could fall apart." They seemed to escape world-ending disaster every other week by the skin of their teeth as it was.

"People can change," the Doctor stated with the certainty of someone who had seen it.

"But they have to _want_ to change." Viera felt guilty for arguing with the Doctor about something so important to him. She bit her lip as the Doctor ran his hands through his hair and looked back at the machines that could give the Master a new lease on life. He was silent as he thought, then determination hardened his features.

"We'll be careful. I'll reset the TARDIS control so he can't use them. I'll keep an eye on him, I promise. I just- we can't leave him in there forever." The Doctor gave Viera his very best reassuring look. "He just needs another chance. He wasn't always so…"

"Crazy?" Viera supplied tiredly as he searched for the right word. The Doctor gave a crooked grimace and continued.

"We were friends once. And things _have_ changed. He did save my life," the Doctor pointed out.

Viera was pretty sure that he was going to free the Master whether or not she thought it was a good idea. Part of her wanted to argue anyways, to reserve the right to say 'I told you so' if things took a turn for the worst, but he was still looking at her with those hope-filled brown eyes, silently asking for her support. He didn't have to be the last Time Lord anymore; could she really keep insisting that he should be?

"There is that," she finally agreed, surrender in her tone.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhearing," Chriz's voice startled them both. They turned to find their tour guide with an armful of forms, looking hesitant for the first time. Viera wondered just how much of the argument he'd heard. "If your… friend is a safety risk, there are other options. Really, as dangerous as he sounds, I would really, very strongly advise you not to put him in an adult body. That of a child perhaps, or even an animal. We have a very successful four-legged probation program in place."

"What?" The Doctor looked as appalled as he sounded. Viera, on the other hand, found herself a little bit intrigued by the idea.

"It's perfectly safe, of course," Chriz rushed to assure them. "And it's not permanent. We can always move him to a different body should he prove himself to be… less of a risk. We do it all the time. It started out as an artificial body program for pets, so those who were particularly attached to their four-legged companions wouldn't lose them as quickly. It wasn't long before we saw the other implications and adjusted the process for human use. It's proven quite effective in the reintroduction of criminals, though occasionally it's used in a more permanent state for punishment. We even have customers who simply want to experience life as an animal for a time, to get closer to nature."

As Chriz rambled on, trying to wipe the horrified expression from the Doctor's face, Viera amused herself imagining Harold Saxon as an animal. Her imagination took the idea and ran with it, wondering what she herself would be if she was an animal, then the Doctor as well.

"He'd be a cat, I think," Viera mused aloud, drawing the attention of both men. She blinked at them innocently. "Saxon. If he were an animal, I think he'd be a cat. He's persnickety, a bit fickle. Don't you think?"

The Doctor, whom Viera thought would probably be some sort of dog, loyal and friendly but dangerous under the right circumstances, looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Chriz just scribbled something on one of the forms.

"I'm _kidding_," Viera assured, though it was rather half-hearted. Honestly, it sounded tempting. The Master could probably get up to nearly as much trouble as a child as he could normally, but even he would be less of a threat in a body without opposable thumbs. And it wasn't like he didn't deserve some sort of punishment. "Mostly," she amended.

"No," the Doctor stated firmly. "Just, _no_. We _can't_. He'd never forgive me!"

Viera shifted a bit guiltily. "I know." She pictured herself in that sort of situation, waking up trapped in an animal's body without her consent. She'd probably be terrified, even if she thought she could learn to enjoy the experience if she knew it was temporary, and if she felt safe. Still, being _forced_ into something like that, when Saxon's state of mind was already so fragile… "No, you're right. We couldn't. We have to do this right."

The Doctor looked relieved, but Chriz didn't look so pleased with their decision.

"Are you absolutely certain? I assure you the process is-"

"Sorry, Chriz, we've made up our minds. He's going to be mad enough waking up in a human body," the Doctor muttered. Viera grimaced while Chriz just looked lost. "Now how about we fill out those forms and get started?" He flung an arm around their guide's shoulders and pulled him in the direction of the machines.

"Well, if you're sure…" Chriz agreed reluctantly. He ducked out from beneath the Doctor's arm and logged in to a computer console. "I'll get the machines set up. You can design your friend's new body in the computer like I showed you. Take all the time you need." He hurried off, leaving them alone again.

_Are you sure?_ Viera wanted to ask again. She knew what his answer would be though, so she stood silently as he typed a few things into the computer.

"So what should he look like?" the Doctor asked, frowning at the screen.

Viera thought about it a moment, then shrugged a shoulder. "I can't really see him as anyone but Harold Saxon."

The Doctor hummed. "That body was rather less…" he pinched two fingers together and ran them across his upper lip, like he was smoothing a mustache, "villainous than some of his incarnations. Might be good for a new start." He typed at great speed and Viera watched as the blank form on screen grew the familiar face of Saxon. A few minutes later Chriz returned with a credit machine. While the Doctor paid for the new body, or tricked the machine into thinking he had, Viera ran back to the TARDIS to get the box that held the Master's life energy.

She hesitated a moment before gingerly laying a palm against each side. No energy touched her skin; it was all safely contained. She still felt uneasy. Viera shook her head at her own nervousness and slid her hands beneath the box to heft it up. It was heavy, but not so much that she struggled with it.

"Please don't make him regret this," she murmured as they left the TARDIS.

Once she'd gotten the box back to the Doctor, Chriz took charge. The box was soon situated inside a chamber of the machine. Chriz transferred their specifications into yet another computer and pulled a trio of levers. A thick, pale liquid slid through a myriad of tubes leading into a second chamber. Light's flashed, the machine whined and rumbled as steam hissed out of the vents on top.

Viera watched the Doctor as he kept his eyes on the machine. Excitement and worry vied for control of his expression, but underneath that was the most vivid display of _hope_.

There was a low beep to signal that the process was complete, and the machine went silent. With a quiet pop the door to the second chamber unsealed and slid open.

It was not a human man who sat of the floor of the chamber, but a cat. A very disoriented, ordinary-looking cat.

"That's- What-" the Doctor sputtered a moment, staring at the cat in horror. He spun around and narrowed his eyes at the technician, who was decidedly less surprised than the rest of them. The Doctor's voice dropped an octave as he took a step towards the nervous young man. "What have you done?"

Viera couldn't tear her eyes off the cat. He looked very much like a large housecat, with pretty pale grey fur and dark grey stripes that ran halfway up his paws and tail. He didn't move like a cat though; he stumbled trying to stand up right, and landed on all fours with his legs braced. There was too much intelligence in his blue eyes and panic written in the way his small body trembled.

The idea of Saxon as a cat wasn't quite so amusing anymore.

"Undo it!" the Doctor demanded behind her. Viera turned to see that he'd backed the technician up against the wall. While he wasn't touching him, the Doctor was making the technician quite nervous, towering over him as he pointed empathetically at the machine. "_Fix_ _him!_"

"I-I can't do that," the technician stammered. "You said he's a dangerous man. I can't in good conscience allow you to let him roam free." He groped at the wall behind him, looking unnerved by the way the Doctor's expression darkened. Viera saw the switch he was reaching for just a moment too late.

"Doctor!" she warned just as the technician pulled a small lever built into the wall. An alarm went off immediately, complete with flashing red lights.

"All personal to lockdown locations. Guard units five, seven, and seventeen to Transformation Bay Nine," a mechanical voice called loudly over the speaker system.

"Time to go," the Doctor declared, abandoning the technician. He jogged back over then reached for the cat, only to jerk back with a pained hiss when Saxon swiped at him. "It's not my fault!" he protested. "I didn't tell him to do this!"

Saxon growled his disbelief and raced towards the door. He lurched clumsily through the first few steps, but he seemed to be getting used his new body quickly. Any traces of fear and confusion were gone, completely wiped away by his growing rage.

"We can fix this!" the Doctor promised, opening the door with his screwdriver. Saxon shot down the hall without looking back, leaving the Doctor and Viera to race after him. "We'll get you back into a regular body! We just have to come back another time." The cat ignored him, skidding around a corner on the slick floor. "Other way!" the Doctor yelled. Saxon turned around with a growl and followed them down the other hallway.

"Maybe we should discuss this _after_ we get back to the TARDIS?" Viera suggested mildly. The Doctor grimaced but stopped trying to reason with Saxon for the time being. The cat was soon ahead of them again, pausing just long enough at crossroads for the Doctor to yell out directions.

They were nearly to the TARDIS when they ran into the guards. Saxon ran right between their feet towards the bright blue phone box behind them. The Doctor's first instinct was to protect his friend and occasional enemy; he opened the door with a snap of his fingers. Then it was only him and Viera stuck in the hallway with the armed guards.

"Now, just wait a minute," the Doctor reasoned, his hands held up in surrender. "There's been a bit of a misunderstanding here."

"All guests are to be taken to Conference Room One for questioning during a lockdown," the lead guard stated firmly. "We apologize for the inconvenience."

"Yes, well, that's all very good. Very professional. Well done. But see, we're not guests," the Doctor explained, slowly raising a hand towards his jacket. One of the guards raised his weapon slightly. "Just grabbing my credentials." The lead guard nodded and the Doctor cautiously pulled out his psychic paper. "There, see? Not guests."

The lead guard eyed the paper with enough intensity to make Viera nervous. "Inspector Smith, my apologies," he stated finally. He motioned for the guard unit to move on. "Please find an office and stay there until we've cleared this floor."

"Yes, of course," the Doctor agreed easily. He waited until the guards were out of sight around the corner before running to the TARDIS.

They were greeted with chaos when they stepped through the door. Viera winced; the TARDIS' usual song was buzzing with irritation.

"What have you done?" the Doctor yelped. In the two minutes they'd been stuck out in the hallways, Saxon had managed to tear the control room apart. The angry feline was currently racing around the console, shoving levers in different directions and using his teeth on anything he could get ahold of. Apparently he didn't need thumbs. The TARDIS wheezed and whirred as Saxon started the ignition, pulling the ship into the Time Vortex.

"Stop that!" The Doctor reached towards the cat, trying to pull him away from the controls. He stumbled as the ship tilted wildly, and Saxon leapt to the floor, clawing the Doctor's ankle before he darted away. "Ouch! You little _beast_! This is no time to be throwing a temper tantrum!"

The snarling growl that rolled from beneath the console seemed to disagree.

"Get out of there!"

Saxon streaked across the floor as the Doctor reached for him again. Viera tried to cut him off, and he shot off in a different direction. They spent the next ten minutes caught between trying to catch the angry feline before he did more damage and trying to steer the TARDIS. Then Saxon pulled out one too many wires and the alarms started going off.

"Not good. Not good!" The Doctor stopped chasing the cat to focus on the computer screen.

"_How_ not good?" Viera questioned, wincing as she pressed a hand to one of the deeper scratches she'd accumulated. She kept a wary eye on Saxon, but he seemed to have sated his rage for the moment. The pale grey cat was watching the Doctor with narrowed eyes and a twitching tail, but at least he'd stopped tearing things apart.

"You might want to hang onto something."

_~~~~~~~~~~~Present~~~~~~~~~~~_

The TARDIS careened earthwards as the alarms reached a new level of shrill.

"Hold on tight!" the Doctor shouted.

Viera wrapped herself around the railing as the TARDIS tumbled through the air, gravity changing too fast for Viera to even get a sense for which direction was up. She heard the Doctor yell behind her, a wild sound born more of adrenaline than fear, like they were riding a rollercoaster rather than crashing. Her inclination was to clamp down on her voice as well as the fear, but she joined in instead. Her own yell started out as more of a frightened squeal, but oddly enough the terror of falling eased a bit with the release of sound.

The TARDIS hit the ground abruptly, nearly tearing Viera away from the railing. The alarms quieted enough that Viera could hear her own breathing. She took a deep breath, then another before realizing that her eyes were clinched closed. Cautiously she pried one open, then the other.

The ship was sideways. Viera was sideways as well, still firmly attached to the sturdy rails that surrounded the console. Bruised arms aside, she was unharmed, which was more than she could say for the TARDIS. The room was a mess. The lights flickered and dimmed as loose wires sparked. Anything that hadn't been bolted to the floor had been thrown back into the depths of the ship. The lone bench in the room was losing stuffing from the long, deep, claw-made tears. The cat who had been perched there was nowhere in sight.

_I hope he didn't hit anything on the way down,_ Viera thought, worried for Saxon despite herself. She swallowed and craned her neck to peer over her shoulder. Vertigo hit as she stared into the long corridor beneath her; she tightened her arms around the railing, feeling cold. Saxon wasn't the only one missing.

"Doctor!" she called. Silence. "_**Doctor!**_" _Please, please-please-please-please be-_

"-here!" came the distant reply at last. "I'm here! We're fine!" Several stories down, the door at the very end of the corridor opened inward. Long, slender fingers curled around the doorframe and The fear seeped out of Viera as she watched the Doctor pulled himself up. His normally wild hair was plastered to his head and an absolutely sodden cat clung to his left shoulder.

Her relief tripled the hilarity of the situation; Viera burst out laughing. Honestly, the situations they got themselves into was ridiculous. She wished she had her camera handy. Saxon looked miserable and it served him right. She finally began to relax, snickering as she unwound her limbs from the railing and clambered on top. "What happened to you?" she yelled down.

"The TARDIS moved the swimming pool into the library. Safer landing. Bit damp," the Doctor replied, completely unbothered with the fact that he was drenched. He stood on the wall, looking around at the damage. There was a low growl from the wet cat on his shoulder, and the Doctor winced as Saxon dug his claws in. "Ow! Don't take this out on me! It's _your_ fault we crashed in the first place. Just look what you've done to my TARDIS!" He rubbed absently at his shoulder and peered back down into the library. The Doctor's expression twisted into thoughtfulness as he eyed the mess. "Don't suppose you remember where we left the ladder?"

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: . Yes, I've gone a bit off the deep end. I've wavered a lot between openings for this bit. My first impulse was to have the crash be the Master's fault somehow. Then I thought, <em>Hey! I should make the Master a cat<em>. Weird? Yes, I know. Not unheard of for fanfiction, but it does add a bit of ridiculousness to the story and that wasn't really my intent. I even thought about making it a separate little side story, but my muse took the idea and ran with it (and I'm rather absurdly fond of the image of an angry Saxon-kitty skulking around the TARDIS) and now I can't see it happening any other way. Also, I had such a hard time getting this chapter out in the first place, I _really_ didn't want to try to rewrite it.


	12. 12:2 The Youngest Companion

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

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><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**12:2 – Crack in the Wall: "Don't Forget Us" by Epic Score **

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><p>PART TWELVE – AMELIA<p>

Chapter Two – The Youngest Companion

They never did find the ladder. The Doctor ended up using a grappling hook he'd found tucked into a corner of the library instead. Viera sat on the railing of the console room and watched as he pulled himself up, trying not to look too intrigued by the obvious strength of his wiry arms. Saxon-the-cat remained firmly attached to his shoulder; his dripping tail twitched irritably as the Doctor explained once again that they hadn't had anything to do with him ending up as in a feline body. Viera couldn't tell if Saxon believed him or if he was just biding his time for another attack.

She helped pull the Doctor over onto the railing once he'd pulled even with her. He took a few deep breaths, the rope still firmly in hand.

"Bit of a climb, that," he remarked, flashing a grin.

Viera smiled back reflexively then glanced around the sideways ship. "What are we going to do now?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. The TARDIS can repair herself, no problem. We just need to get out of here for a bit and leave her to it."

"Really? That's handy." Viera turned her attention to the wet lump of fur on the Doctor's

shoulder. "What are we going to do about Saxon?"

The cat growled low and violent, sounding more like a small mountain lion than a house cat.

"I think he'd prefer to be called the Master," the Doctor pointed out mildly. His lips twitched with amusement.

"I am not calling him that." Viera made a face at the Doctor before turning back to the cat. "You're not _my_ Master. You weren't when you were-" _a Time Lord? Does he lose that title if he doesn't have a Gallifreyan body?_ "-bigger than me, and you certainly aren't now. I am _not_ calling a _cat_ 'Master'. You should feel lucky I'm not calling you Fluffy or Mr. Whiskers. Believe me it's tempting."

Saxon rumbled low in his throat then subsided, clearly sulking. It was surprisingly hard to resist the urge to stick out her tongue in childish retaliation.

"He'll have to come with us. It's not safe to be in here while she's rebuilding." The Doctor turned his head and nearly went cross-eyed trying to focus on the cat. He looked far too pleased with the angry little thing. Things hadn't worked out quite as planned, but at least the Master was alive. "Once she's fixed, we'll go back to the factory before we were there the first time and get you put into a proper body." Saxon eyed him doubtfully a moment, then apparently decided to believe him. Or at least stop snarling. Viera hoped the promise of a new body would be enough to make him behave for a while.

"All right," the Doctor prompted. He held the rope out to Viera as the console below them sparked and began to smoke. "Ladies first."

Viera grimaced, taking the rope reluctantly. "I was never all that good at this part of gym," she admitted. Nevertheless, she clung to it as she balanced carefully on the railing and shakily stood. _Oh dear_. She took deep breath and started pulling herself up; her legs gripped the rope beneath her.

She was very glad that it wasn't all that far from the railing to the TARDIS door. Viera dragged herself up to the doorframe and with great effort, scrabbled over the edge. With a quiet "oof", she tumbled out onto thankfully-soft dirt then froze as she found herself staring into the curious eyes of a young human girl. Or at least a girl that _looked_ human. Viera took a quick glance around and decided that she probably _was_ on Earth, as she found herself surrounded by plants she recognized in rather messy garden.

"Hello," Viera greeted carefully, not sure what else to say upon being caught climbing out of a tipped-over police box in a stranger's yard.

"Hello." The ginger-haired girl studied her with calm, hazel eyes, not an ounce of fear apparent anywhere. "Are you with the police?"

"Erm, well…" _If I say yes, will that keep you from yelling for your parents?_ Viera glanced over her shoulder as a muffled grumble floated out of the box behind her. She stood and moved out of the way, brushing herself off. "Oh look, here's your policeman now."

"Eh?" The Doctor blinked in bemusement as he peered over the edge of the doorframe. Saxon jumped off his shoulder to sit on the edge of the TARDIS. Viera raised her eyebrows and shot a significant look at the little girl. "Ah! Yes! Policeman, that's me!" he agreed cheerfully. He climbed out of the TARDIS rather more gracefully than Viera had, then began searching through his pockets for his psychic paper to prove his claim.

The little girl seemed to believe him without it. "Are you here about the crack in my wall?"

The Doctor stopped searching so he could crouch down to her level, suddenly rather more serious. "Why do you need a policeman for the crack in your wall?"

Viera tried pay attention even as she kept an eye on Saxon. Instinctually he'd started grooming his very wet fur. Then he'd realized what he was doing and froze, wide-eyed with his little pink tongue still halfway out of his mouth.

"Sometimes at night, I can hear voices," the girl replied with a sweet Scottish lilt.

"Well, we'll have to do something about that, won't we?"

Saxon gave Viera a disgruntled look at the amusement she wasn't hiding very well, then proceeded to groom himself after all, as though in declaration that he didn't care what anyone thought.

She had to admit, Saxon was pretty adorable as a fur ball, even damp and angry. His pale grey fur was beginning to fluff out in agitation as it dried and she knew he'd be soft. If she hadn't been worried about losing a hand, Viera might have given into the temptation to cuddle him, never mind who he was. That would probably be better revenge than anything else, anyways. Except maybe pictures.

_Hmm, I should find my camera. I wonder if it survived the crash._

"Come on, you two," the Doctor called. Viera blushed faintly to realize that she'd been ignoring the Doctor and the child in favor of imagining ways to irritate Saxon. The Doctor had the little girl's hand and they were halfway to the door of the nearby house. Viera jogged to catch up, muttering a sheepish apology to the girl's curious expression and the Doctor's amused one.

"Well? Allonsy!" the Doctor prompted again, motioning at Saxon with his free hand. The cat gave him dubious look, then turned his back and went back to washing his paw. "Fine, fine. But stay put!" The Doctor turned and started towards the house again, throwing one last remark over his shoulder. "And stay out of trouble!"

"He's just a cat," the little girl remarked, frowning slightly.

"What?"

"He's just a cat. He can't understand you," she explained with some exasperation.

"Well, that shows what you know," the Doctor teased. "It just so happens… that I speak cat."

He said it with a touch of pride and such certainty that the little girl had to mull it over a second. Viera grinned as the child narrowed her eyes at him.

"No you don't. Nobody speaks _cat._" They'd reached the door to the house. She turned on him with arms crossed. "You're not a _real_ policeman, are you."

"No, no I'm not," the Doctor agreed without missing a beat. "But! I can help you with that crack in your wall. I'm the Doctor."

"If you're a doctor, why does your box say 'police'?"

"Not _a_ doctor. The Doctor." He glanced back at the TARDIS. "And I like it that way, don't you?"

The little girl eyed him warily a moment longer, before giving in opening the door. "I suppose," she admitted. She looked at Viera. "Are _you_ a doctor too?"

"Not me. I'm Viera. It's nice to meet you," she stated, holding out her hand in invitation.

There was heartbeat of hesitation before the girl took her hand and shook it firmly, head held high. "Amelia Pond."

"Oh, that's brilliant. Amelia Pond. A_meeel_ia Pond," the Doctor rolled the words over his tongue and grinned. "Lovely name." Despite it being Amelia's house, he led the way, peering into corners and briefly picking up any knickknacks in reach to look them over. "Where are Mr. & Mrs. Pond then? Sound sleepers not to have heard us crash into the shed. I'd have thought your mum and dad would have come running by now."

Viera grimaced slightly, imagining an angry father stomping down the stairs with a shotgun. Wouldn't that just figure?

"I don't have a mum and dad. Just an aunt," Amelia informed them painlessly.

The Doctor stopped snooping to turn and face her, his expression free of pain except for the tiny creases of stress at the corner of his eyes. "I don't even have an aunt," he remarked just as casually.

"You're lucky," Amelia stated with all the exasperation of a child tired of being treated like a child. Viera flinched, knowing the Doctor felt the bite of that statement even if he didn't react.

"I know. So you aunt, does she wear earplugs to bed or something? Hard of hearing, perhaps?"

"She's out."

"She left you alone?" Viera exclaimed.

Amelia turned to frown at her. "I'm not scared."

_That's not the point._ Viera bit her lip, trying to remember how old she'd been the first time she'd been left alone. She couldn't. She'd always at least had her siblings with her, if not a babysitter. Even as she grew up, getting any time at all alone at home had been about as likely as seeing a falling star. _What's a normal age to start looking after yourself? __**At night**__, no less. Certainly not for a few more years…_

"Course you're not scared! We climb out of a box that fell from the sky, and you don't flinch," the Doctor observed. He knelt again to study her face. "Which makes me wonder… how bad that crack must be to make you go looking for a policeman." Amelia met his gaze steadily and after a moment he presented a confident, reassuring grin. "Best get that taken care of then!" He leapt to his feet and bounded up the stairs, Amelia close on his heels. Viera smiled, shook her head, and followed at a more sedate pace.

She felt a shiver run up her spine as she took the first step. She ignored it, but the discomfort soon turned to queasiness. Viera paused at the top of the stairs to try get her bearings.

"Viera?" the Doctor asked, his enthusiasm momentarily replaced by concern. He was standing quite close with his hands hovering outstretched like he thought he might have to catch her.

"I'm fine. I just-" Viera frowned and rubbed at the bridge of her nose where a very slight pressure was beginning to grow. "Something feels off."

The Doctor hummed under his breath and turned back to Amelia. She was watching them both with wide hazel eyes. "Which one is your room?"

"That one." Amelia pointed.

"All right." The Doctor took both Viera's hands and led her a few steps closer to Amelia's room. He stopped abruptly when she grimaced. "Well, that settles that. You stay here. I have to see a wall about a crack."

"It's not _hurting_ me," Viera protested, following him and Amelia down the hallway. "I'm just a bit queasy." Despite not wanting to be left behind, Viera found herself stopping several feet from the door as her stomach twisted. She swallowed repeatedly in an effort to keep her breakfast down.

"Just stay by the stairs," the Doctor scolded, his concern halfway hidden beneath his mock exasperation. He disappeared into the room with Amelia in tow. "Why does no one ever just do what I tell them?"

"We'd all get rather boring then, wouldn't we?" Viera called back as she leaned against the wall. 'Stay by the stairs' indeed. She was staying close enough to hear whatever went on in that bedroom. Viera closed her eyes and tried to focus more on what she was hearing than how she was feeling.

"Well, isn't this interesting…" The Doctor's voice was accompanied by the quiet hum of the sonic screwdriver. He muttered something too quiet for Viera to hear.

"What does that mean?" Amelia asked.

"Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. It _means_ this crack isn't in the wall."

"Where is it then?"

"Everywhere. In everything. It's a split in the skin of the world. Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together...right here in the wall of your bedroom." He raised his voice then, talking to Viera. "We've seen something like this before. Do you remember the crack that was spilling out light in the forest?"

Viera stiffened, taking an automatic step towards Amelia's door. Dizziness swept over her, but it was nothing compared to the surge of panic. If this was the same thing that had erased those soldiers from existence, they had to get out of there. Not that it would do much good. The crack would keep growing until it swallowed the world. It had taken all of the Angels to close the last one. Only the Doctor…

"Don't worry! It's all right!" It took a moment for the Doctor's words to sink in.

_If he tells me it's okay because he can stop it by jumping in, I'm going to strangle him,_ Viera thought desperately.

"It's not that far along. It isn't leaking any time energy at all. I can fix it before it gets that far," he assured.

"Fix it how?" Viera asked worriedly.

"All we need to do," there was a grunt and the sound of moving furniture, "is open it up all the way. The forces will invert and it'll snap itself shut. Probably."

At least he wasn't trying to sacrifice himself again. Viera let out a quiet sigh of relief and stepped back to where the forces in the room didn't make her feel quite so sick. "What happens if it doesn't?"

"Plan B!"

_Yes, that's helpful._ Viera shook her head, though he couldn't see her. "What's Plan B?"

"Dyconium-made universal-strength duct tape!" The Doctor's voice lowered as he returned his attention to Amelia. "There's almost- If you listen closely, you can hear…"

_Duct tape? Really?_ She had no idea whether the Doctor was being serious or not. It was much harder to tell whether he was really unworried or just acting when she couldn't see his face. He didn't _sound_ worried, but that didn't really mean anything.

"Prisoner Zero has escaped. That's what I heard. What does it mean?" Amelia asked.

"It means that, on the other side of this wall, there's a prison and they've lost a prisoner. Do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"You need a better wall. Come on, get back a bit." The Doctor raised his voice again. "You might want to step back too, Viera! The energies making you sick will probably get worse when I open it."

"Alright," Viera agreed, making her way back down the hallway. _So I end up waiting by the stairs after all._ She couldn't hear anything but quiet murmurs from Amelia's room anymore, but the Doctor was right to warn her away. Almost as soon as she reached the stairs, the sense of wrongness increased to the point of painfulness, even at that distance. Viera swayed and leaned against the wall with a hand pressed against her head in a useless effort to ease the pressure. Then abruptly it was gone. The pain, the pressure, the sickness vanished.

"Huh. Guess we don't have to worry about Plan B after all," she mused, relieved.

The Doctor stepped out of Amelia's room with a puzzled look on his face, inspecting the hallway. Amelia peered up at him with confusion on her cherubic face. Before Viera could ask what was wrong, the loud clang of a bell echoed through the night.

"No, no-no-no-no," the Doctor gasped, sprinting down the hall. He was halfway down the stairs before a very startled Viera got her feet moving.

"What's wrong?"

"The TARDIS! The engines are phasing; it's going to burn! I've got to get her stabilized."

Amelia caught up to them as they reached the TARDIS, breathing hard. Saxon growled at them from his perch on the TARDIS; Viera wasn't sure whether he was irritated they came back or that they took so long.

"But it's just a box! How can a box have engines?" the little girl demanded skeptically.

"It's not a box. It's a time machine," the Doctor stated. He pulled the grappling hook loose and tied the loose end of the rope to the inside handle of the TARDIS door. The warning bell continued to peal in the background.

"What, a real one? You've got a real time machine?"

"Wouldn't be the Doctor without it," he quipped, giving Amelia a wild grin. His gaze shifted slightly to include Viera. "She needs to be recalibrated. A five-minute jump into the future should do just fine-"

"Can I come?" Amelia interrupted.

"Not yet. It isn't safe right now," the Doctor stated, climbing up onto the TARDIS doorframe. "Give me five minutes, I'll be right back."

_**We'll**__ be right back_, Viera corrected him silently. She peered into the TARDIS with a slight grimace. Going down was usually worse than going up, and it hadn't been a very fun climb in the first place.

"People always say that," Amelia murmured sadly.

The Doctor went still for a heartbeat before jumping down from the TARDIS to kneel in front of the little girl. He waited until she met his eyes then smiled warmly. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not 'people' then, huh? Trust me, I'm the Doctor."

The scene was heartwarming, but Viera felt a cold shiver of foreboding run through her veins. _Please don't let us break this promise to a little girl._ She shook the feeling off and climbed up onto the doorframe.

"Why don't you stay here with Amelia?" the Doctor suggested. He seemed sincerely unworried when she turned to look at him. "Just five minutes. It really isn't safe right now; it's not going to be a fun trip. Keep Amelia company. I'll be right back."

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: You guys are awesome! Thanks so much for your support! I was a little bit worried because I hadn't gotten any review alerts at all, but it turns out my email settings had just been changed. Hopefully the next chapter won't take me quite so long.<p> 


	13. 12:3 Cricket Bats and Stubbornness

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

* * *

><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**Little Girl Lost: "Time to Go" by Kerry Muzzey**

* * *

><p>PART TWELVE – AMELIA<p>

Chapter Three – Cricket Bats and Stubbornness

_"Keep Amelia company. I'll be right back."_

The cold sense of foreboding in Viera's chest tightened and forced the word out harsher than she'd meant it to be. "**No**." _No way in hell._ She realized that the Doctor was just trying to make things easier on Amelia by leaving her a companion, but Viera wasn't going to cooperate this time. "Sorry, but this is my home too." At least that sounded better than admitting that she was inexplicably terrified of being left behind this time, even for 'just five minutes'. She lowered herself into the TARDIS before the Doctor had a chance to argue. Viera wedged her fingers into the grate they usually walked on and started making her way down.

"Hold on a minute- Viera!" the Doctor protested above her. She ignored him.

"See you soon Amelia!" Viera called. The smoke filling the console room stuck in her throat and made her cough, but she kept moving. Her sense of unease lifted as the Doctor stopped complaining in order to say farewell to Amelia himself.

_What's wrong with me? Would it really have killed me to wait five minutes with the kid?_ Viera's musings were interrupted by the weight that dropped suddenly to her shoulder and the claws that slid far too easily through the loose weave of her sweater. Viera hissed in pain and glared and the heavy fur ball balanced precariously on her shoulder.

"That. Hurts," Viera grumbled through gritted teeth. Saxon gave her a superior look perfectly suited to his feline form. She flinched as sparks erupted from the wires beneath the floor grate and started moving again. "This is all your fault."

The rope behind Viera tapped against her shoulder as it swung. She heard the door above slam closed and soon enough the Doctor dropped down next to them. He clung to the rope with an ease that made Viera jealous.

"What was that all about?" There was no irritation in his voice, only curiosity, but Viera couldn't quite meet his eyes. She shrugged her unoccupied shoulder.

"Shouldn't we get going?" The warning bells were even louder inside the TARDIS and it was starting to give her a headache.

"Yes, yes. I'm going." He slid down the rope and landed on the side of the computer console with a thump. Viera was still clinging to the grating when he yelled, "Hang on tight!" and the TARDIS took off with a strained rendition of this usual whir. She held on for deal live as the ship shook and swayed and finally righted itself.

When the world stopped moving at last, Viera pried her aching fingers out of the grating, sighing in relief. Saxon finally withdrew his claws from her shoulder and darted off to find a better perch.

_Darn cat._ Viera sat up, flexing her fingers absently. She glanced back to see that the Doctor had gone rather still. His expression was pulled into a frown and he was mouthing words silently.

"Doctor?"

All of a sudden his eyes lit up with realization and he smacked himself on the forehead with the palm of one hand. "Oh, _thick_. I'm so thick! How did I _miss_ that?" The Doctor flipped one last switch on the console then raced for the door. "Come on, Viera! We've got to get Amelia out of that house. It isn't safe!"

Viera scrambled to her feet and followed obediently. "What-?" She stumbled a moment when she passed the doors and found herself bathed in sunlight. _It was night, right? Shoot. He said __**five minutes**__,_ she worried as she looked up at the sun already well up into the sky.

The Doctor didn't seem to have noticed either that she'd stopped or that it was obviously hours and hours after they were supposed to have arrived. He was already at the house's door, fidgeting with his screwdriver. "Amelia! You've got to get out of there!" He was still yelling as he slipped into the house.

Viera hurried to catch up. She followed his voice up the stairs and found him just in time to watch him get clobbered by a cricket bat wielded by a young policewoman.

"Hey!" Viera yelped, nearly tripping in her rush to get between that woman and the unconscious Doctor. "What are you doing?"

The woman pointed her bat at Viera as though to hold her off. "What am _I_ doing? What are _you_ doing? This is _my_ house!"

"Your-?" _Is she old enough to be Amelia's aunt and guardian?_ Viera held her hands up, trying to look harmless as she stood over the Doctor. The Time Lord gave a quiet groan but didn't otherwise stir, much to her disappointment. _Get up, get up, get up. Talking our way out of bad situations is __**your**__ strong suit, not mine._ "Listen, I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding. See, we just…" Oh, she didn't even know _why_ they needed to get out of the house, let alone how to explain to a stranger. _We were here last night alone with your niece and we came back to take her away,_ didn't seem like a very wise choice, but what else was she supposed to say? "We were looking for- Well, Amelia, actually."

"Amelia," the woman stated flatly.

"Your, erm, niece?" Viera prodded hopefully.

"I don't have a niece."

_Then who- _Viera stared at the mad woman with the cricket bat for a long moment, trying to get her mind to make the connection she was sure was just out of reach. "You said you live here." The red-head's eyes narrowed, but she made no denial. "What happened to Amelia Pond?"

The Doctor chose that moment to come to. He groaned and pressed a hand to the bump on his head as he sat up. "I feel like I got run over by a Triagilinian Mostrey. Again," the Time Lord grumbled.

"Just a cricket bat this time, Doctor," Viera said without taking her eyes off the policewoman. She didn't quite understand the emotions she saw running through those bright green eyes as the bat in her hands wavered.

"Ah, yes. Hello." The Doctor climbed to his feet. It was funny how much better Viera felt once he was awake and standing close enough behind her shoulder that she could have leaned on him if she'd wanted. "Not the _worst_ greeting I've ever gotten, but it could use some work."

"You were trespassing," the red-head pointed out loftily. "You're _still_ trespassing. You're going to jail, you know. Backup's on the way already. They'll be here any minute."

"Yes. Right. Good idea. But we should really go wait for them outside." The Doctor took Viera's elbow and started tugging her towards the stairs without moving from his spot. "If you'll just get Amelia, we can all go wait in the yard and I'll explain everything." He sounded pretty calm and reasonable, but there was an underlying sense of urgency that reminded Viera of the frantic way he'd been searching for Amelia before he'd gotten knocked out. Goose bumps scattered across Viera's arms.

The policewoman was less than impressed with his suggestion. "You're not going anywhere. And Amelia Pond hasn't lived here in a long time."

The Doctor went still and Viera felt her heart sink. "What? No. No. Amelia Pond? Little Scottish girl?" he prodded, as though the woman had simply misplaced the memory. "We were just with her five minutes ago. Maybe- maybe a few hours. The engines were phasing and I didn't have as much control as I thought I would and the TARDIS isn't exactly known for her punctuality but-"

"How long?" Viera interrupted quietly.

There was a second's hesitation before the red-head tilted up her chin and replied. "Six months."

The Doctor hissed something guilt-laden and angry in Gallifreyan. "I _promised_," he protested helplessly. "Where is she? Did something happen to her?"

"Should we be discussing this outside?" Viera asked. She felt sick, worried about Amelia and guilty about how deeply, vastly relieved she was that she hadn't stayed behind. _But would Amelia have been safer if I had?_

"No. Nobody's leaving," the policewoman argued, waving the bat threateningly.

"Listen to me," the Doctor demanded, his usual jovial calm conspicuously absent. "This house isn't safe.

"What, you mean _aside_ from the crazy couple who broke in to do who knows what?"

Viera could practically hear the Doctor's teeth grinding together. "How many rooms are there on this floor?" The woman's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Viera glanced around to count herself. "Just tell me, how many rooms?"

_Five._ "Five."

"Count them."

"One, two, three, four, five," the red-head counted with a quick flick of her fingers towards each door.

"Six," the Doctor added.

Viera frowned and counted again, then scanned the ceiling for signs of a trapdoor. _Six? Where is he getting six?_

"Look."

"Look where?" the woman demanded, aggravated.

"Exactly where you don't want to look. Where you never want to look, the corner of your eye. Right behind me," the Doctor stated.

A shiver ran down Viera's spine as she turned to obey. There in the corner, where she'd been standing with the Doctor all along, was another door. Even knowing it was there, her eyes didn't want to focus on it; they kept trying to skip along to the wall on either side. "What _is_ that?"

"That's… That is not possible. How's that possible?" the policewoman stammered.

"There's a perception filter round the door. I should have seen it last time we were here. I sensed it, but I didn't realize what it was right away. Too many things running through my head," he stated almost apologetically. "But there. See? Extra door where it isn't supposed to be. Not a good sign. Will you _please_ go outside now?"

"But that's a whole room. That's a whole room I've never even noticed." The red-head took a step towards the door, quickly becoming more curious than freaked out. The cricket bat lowered to her side as her attention wavered. The Doctor wasn't one to let such an opportunity pass; quick as a flash he snatched the bat away and tossed it to Viera. He grabbed the policewoman by the hand before she could react. Viera jogged down the stairs as the Doctor pulled the protesting woman behind her.

"Let go of me!"

"Ow. Stop that!" the Doctor snapped when she slapped his arm and aimed for his head. "I'm trying to _help_. It isn't safe-"

"I'll stop when you stop manhandling me," the woman growled back.

When they reach the ground floor the Doctor pushed her ahead of him the finally let her go, still blocking the way upstairs. The woman spun around and scowled at him.

"Who the hell do you think you are-"

"I _told_ you-"

"What happened to Amelia?" Viera interrupted, raising her voice to be heard. She fought the urge to duck her head and fidget as their attention turned her way. She met the red-head's gaze instead, almost as afraid of the answer as she was desperate for it. "You keep avoiding the question. Did she move? Is she- is she missing?"

The other woman frowned at her, then glanced at the Doctor whose irritation had once more been eclipsed by quilt and worry. She sighed, a little of the fight leaving her. She opened her mouth to reply, but she when quiet as the soft creaking of hinges upstairs drifted to their ears. They all turned to look up at the bit of hallway they could still see.

"What exactly was behind that door again?" Viera asked nervously.

"Prisoner Zero."

* * *

><p><span>IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE HOW THINGS MIGHT HAVE TURNED OUT DIFFERENTLY,<span> there is an alternate version posted as a separate story called "Revision".

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Once again this took longer (and it's shorter) than I wanted, but at least it's been less than a month since the last chapter. ^^; My muse seems to have gone into hibernation.

In case you were wondering, Saxon's still back on the TARDIS. He'll be around, but I figure until he gets bored enough (or sees something he can use to his advantage), he's not going to be all that inclined to meddle in the affairs of humans.


	14. 12:4 Revelations

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who and Torchwood do not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for the new seasons of Doctor Who and Torchwood, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

* * *

><p>PART TWELVE – AMELIA<p>

Chapter Four – Revelations

Whatever Viera had been expecting to see, a balding man holding the leash of a Rottweiler was not it.

"Um…" Viera didn't even know what to say to that. She knew it probably wasn't what it looked like, but it was really hard to be truly frightened of an extremely average-looking repairman and his dog.

"But it's just-" the policewoman protested, obviously feeling the same thing.

"No, it's not," the Doctor interrupted. "Look closer." The man chose that moment to bare his teeth. The dog remained impassive while the repairman snarled and barked and began stalking down the stairs towards them.

"What? I'm sorry, but _what_?" their newest acquaintance exclaimed.

The Doctor grinned, intrigued by this new threat despite everything else. "It's all one creature. One creature disguised as two. Clever old multi-form. Bit of a rush job, though. Got the voice a bit muddled, didn't you? But where did you get the pattern from? You'd need a psychic link, a live feed. How'd you manage that?"

"I really don't think he's in the mood for conversation," Viera pointed out. The entire time the Doctor had been talking, the man-dog-multi-form had been making its way down the stairs, a fierce snarl on his face. She grabbed the redhead's arm and backed away. The man gave a vicious bark.

"You know, on second thought, maybe this isn't the best time- Whoops!" The multi-form leapt down the last few stairs, forcing the Doctor to dodge. "All right! Time to go." And he scrambled after them.

The three of them had just reached the door when a loud, booming voice shook the house. They all froze, multi-form included.

"Attention, Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded. Attention Prisoner Zero. The human residence is surrounded."

"What is _that_?" Viera hissed at the Doctor.

"Ah, I believe that would be the multi-form's jailor."

"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated," the voice stated without emotion.

"Aaaaand that's our cue," the Doctor stated, reaching around the women to pull open the door. He shooed them outside while the multi-form was distracted looking out the window for the source of the voice then headed straight for the garden.

"What is going on?" the policewoman demanded the moment they were out of the house. She shrugged off Viera and the Doctor's hands as they tried to pull her along, though she followed when the Doctor ran ahead anyways. "Tell me!"

"An alien convict is hiding in your spare room disguised as a man and a dog, and some other aliens are about to incinerate your house. Congratulations, your life just got so much more interesting," the Doctor explained. He reached the TARDIS and tried his key in the lock. Nothing happened. "Well that's not good."

"What's wrong?" asked Viera, bouncing restlessly on her toes. Were they far enough from the house to be safe if the other aliens blew it up?

The Doctor groaned and leaned his forehead against the door of his ship. "She's still rebuilding. She's not letting us in."

"Saxon's still in there. It's not going to hurt him, will it?"

"No, no. Well, probably not." The Doctor grimaced. "I don't think she likes him much."

"Can't say I blame her," Viera commented, patting the side of the police box.

"Hello, people. Not a good time to be standing around!" the redhead objected.

"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated."

An angry barrage of barking drew Viera's attention back to the house. The multi-form was standing at the nearest window, glaring at them. She had to wonder how long it'd be before it gave up hiding to come after them. Then the man opened his mouth impossibly wide, showing off a full set of long, needle-like teeth and she decided it was time to get moving.

The policewoman was obviously thinking along the same lines. "Come on," she insisted, pulling at the Doctor's arm. Viera started off in the same direction, only to turn back when the Doctor protested.

"Wait. Wait a minute. That shed! We destroyed that shed last time we landed here." The Doctor pulled away from the woman to stand in front of the small, old garden shed.

"So there's a new one. Let's go," the redhead urged dismissively.

"But it's not new," the Doctor objected pointedly. "Look at it! This has got to be… ten years old. At least." He ran a finger down the peeling paint and licked it, making Viera grimace. "Twelve years. It's twelve years old!"

"What do you mean? That's not-" Viera swallowed and looked at the policewoman. "You said Amelia had been gone for six months. How old was she? What happened to her?"

The woman took a couple steps back as the Doctor stepped forward. She looked uncomfortable and a little bit guilty. "All right, I may have… lied a little."

"Where is she?" the Doctor demanded, all seriousness once more. "Why did you lie?"

"We really need to get going-" the redhead reminded.

"Why did you say six months?"

"He's coming-" she tried to get them to focus on the multi-form, still backing away step by step. Viera glanced nervously towards the house, but the Doctor's brown eyes never left the woman.

"This is important. _Tell me._ Why did you say six months?"

The redhead grit her teeth and straightened. "Why did you say five minutes?" she snapped.

That was enough to pull Viera's attention back to her. "What?" she gasped, echoing the Doctor's remark.

"We need to leave," the woman insisted, this time grabbing both their hands to pull them along.

"What?" the Doctor yelped.

They ran out of the garden just as the multi-form left the house and the voice called out its threat again. Viera glanced over her shoulder and ran faster.

Some ways down the road, well after the policewoman had dropped both their hands, the Doctor skidded to a stop.

"You're Amelia," he stated, still looking floored.

Viera couldn't bring herself to say a word. She felt sick at how badly they'd mangled that promise, but there was relief there too. For one thing, she'd almost been left behind as well. For _twelve years_. And at least now they knew that Amelia was alive and well, if perhaps understandably less trusting.

"Amelia Pond. You were the little girl." The Doctor jogged to catch up to Amelia as she stomped right past him. "What happened?"

"You're late."

The Doctor winced. Then he scowled as he remembered something. "You hit me with a cricket bat!" he exclaim, rather offended.

"Twelve years," Amelia reminded him.

"Still, that's highly uncalled for. You could have given me brain damage. Did you even think of that? There's only so many times one can get whacked on the head-"

"_Twelve years._"

"We are sorry," Viera finally managed, walking briskly on Amelia's other side.

"Yeah, but a cricket bat-"

"Twelve years and four psychiatrists."

"Four?" Viera echoed dazedly.

Amelia's green eyes turned her way then flickered towards the Doctor as her expression became a bit sheepish. "I kept biting them."

"Why?"

"They said you weren't real," she said to them both.

They'd made it to the edge of a park in the midst of their startling conversation. A little ice cream truck sat at the corner of the street. Viera wouldn't have thought anything of it except the large speaker on top was playing a familiar phrase.

"Prisoner Zero will vacate the human residence or the human residence will be incinerated."

Amelia stumbled to a halt, staring at the speaker. The Doctor reluctantly pulled his attention away from the redhead and glanced up at the sky with a sigh.

"Well that's not good."

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Short? Yes. But I figure that's okay as long as I post the next chapter within the next day. Maybe two.<p> 


	15. 12:5 Who Could Refuse

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**The Girl Who Waited: "This is Our Land" by Epic Score**

* * *

><p>PART TWELVE – AMELIA<p>

Chapter Five – Who Could Refuse

As it turned out, the jailers of Prisoner Zero had not been threatening to burn down Amelia- sorry, _Amy's_ house. They were threatening to burn Earth.

Needless to say, they couldn't have that. With the help of a rather adorable nurse named Rory, the Doctor, Viera and Amy had driven the multi-form out of hiding and gotten it back to its jailers, the Atraxi. Then the Doctor had done his Oncoming-Storm impression and basically tried to scold the Atraxi into leaving and never coming back to Earth again.

It worked.

The four of them were left standing on the hospital room, watching the eyeball-snowflake ships of the Atraxi speed away like hell was at their heels.

"Is that it? Is that them gone for good? Who were they?" Amy asked.

"Mm, should be," the Doctor replied, only half paying attention as he dug around in his pocket. "Some species take the hint better than others, but they certainly seemed eager to be off, didn't they? Ah-ha!" The Doctor pulled out his TARDIS key with a grin. It was glowing. Viera tugged hers out from under her shirt to find that it was glowing too. The Doctor's eyes twinkled at her. "Calling us home. Shall we?" he asked, holding out a hand and wiggling his fingers.

Viera took it with familiar ease, giving no outward sign of the way his touch made her skin tingle pleasantly. "Let's," she chirped happily.

"Wait! Where are you going? Come on, Rory; keep up," Viera heard Amy exclaim behind them. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled at the redhead tugging her befuddled boyfriend along by the hand.

"Keep up where?" Rory protested. "I thought we were done running."

But run they did, all the way back to the TARDIS. Viera was giggled breathlessly by the time they reached the door. The Doctor was as excited as a child on Christmas morning as he stuck his key in the lock.

"All right, ol' girl. What've you got for us this time?" Then he opened the door and they slipped inside. "Well, will you look at that!"

"Oh, it's _perfect_," Viera murmured, turning this way and that trying to see everything at once. "Lovely!"

And it was. The familiar gold-brown walls were gone, replaced by curved, smooth cream with white bubbles where the black hexagons had been, and an understated, flowing pattern in light brown and a pale green that matched the light of the time rotor column in the center of the console. The new support beams around the edge of the room looked like stylized trees, just beginning to branch out as they reached the ceiling. They were mostly cream-colored as well, with the same brown and green pattern as the walls. The few handrails around the room and the cushioned benches were a deep, rich dark brown.

It was a brilliant mix of new and familiar. The console itself was less rounded but just as hodgepodge as ever. Still, the pieces had changed a bit and the Doctor was examining them all with great delight. Instead of the panel that slid aside to let them go down the narrow hallways to the other rooms, the new interior had a wide hallway to one side and a set of stairs growing between two of the columns. The whole room was bigger, brighter and more open. The ceiling was even higher than it had been.

The one thing that hadn't changed was the welcoming, hummed song of the TARDIS itself. Viera ran a hand down one of the smooth columns and smiled. "Absolutely beautiful," she murmured to the ship. She was so caught up in looking around that she didn't notice the Doctor preparing to take off until the ship gave a familiar wheeze and shuttered. She turned to find the door shut behind her, Amy and Rory apparently still outside.

"We have to at least say goodbye," Viera protested. She was briefly distracted by the growling cat who chose that moment to stalk from the hallway to one of the benches. He looked… unharmed, but his fur was sticking up like he'd been attacked by static electricity or someone had stuck him in a drier.

"We'll be right back. It's just a quick trip to break her in," the Doctor assured, racing around the console flipping switches. He was grinning too happily for her to feel the least bit irritated with him, so Viera just held on and echoed his whoop when the ship tilted one way then the other before landing with a jarring thump.

Viera stumbled, but she was laughing nonetheless as the ship finally quieted. It was great to have the TARDIS back and in perfect condition. Or perfect for her at least.

"Quick look outside?" the Doctor offered, bounding over to the door. Viera followed with a grin that gave way to an awed gasp as the Doctor flung open the door to show her the Earth, suspended in space. "Moon has a nice view, huh?"

"Wow," was all she could manage to say. They stood there for a few minutes, admiring the stars and the Earth and the light of the sun as it ever so slowly crept closer across the barren lunarscape.

"This is… an amazing life," Viera murmured when they finally shut the door. The Doctor was setting their course for Earth, but he paused a moment to look up and smile. It was warmer, fonder somehow than his usual grin and it made her stomach flutter. The moment passed too quickly and seconds later he was warning her to hold on. Viera sat on the bench next to a very fluffy, angry Saxon and obediently held on tight.

They landed in the Pond garden yet again. It was night. Viera followed the Doctor out and strolled a little ways through the flowers as lights came on inside the house. It was only a minute later that Amy ran from the house wearing a robe and slippers.

"Sorry about taking off like that," the Doctor apologized. "Needed to take her out for a spin. Brand-new TARDIS and all that," he sort of explained, patting the ship he was leaning against. "But she's all set now. Ready to go anywhere in time and space."

"It's you. You came back," Amy stammered, looking a little stunned. Viera flinched; they probably shouldn't have left again like that.

"I always come back," the Doctor stated with quiet seriousness.

_Eventually,_ Viera tacked on to the end. She watched Amy walk up to the TARDIS, barely sparing it a glance before her green gaze fixed on the Doctor.

"So how would you like to come with us? See the world? See other worlds?" the Doctor offered.

"Other times even?" Viera added easily despite the brief flare of surprise. He hadn't mentioned taking Amy with them, at least not since she'd been a child. Still, Viera supposed it made sense. Not only did Amy seem to have a good sense of adventure, but they _had_ more or less abandoned her for twelve years. They at least owed her a vacation.

And Viera thought it was a very good sign that the Doctor was willing to take on another companion. She couldn't help comparing the moment to the time he'd said a flat out "no" to Christina after the mess with the bus. He'd been so… jaded then. Perhaps it was because they'd sidestepped the prophesy, perhaps it was because of what he'd seen in the lives of his former companions when he'd visited them, or perhaps it was because he was no longer truly the last Time Lord, but for whatever reason, his burdens didn't seem to be weighing so heavily on him anymore. At least for the moment.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"Come with us."

"Where?"

"Wherever, whenever you like," the Doctor offered with a winning smile.

"All that stuff, the hospital, the spaceships, Prisoner Zero..."

"Ah, yes, it's pretty much always like that," he said, grin widening.

"Yeah, but those things, amazing things, all that stuff..." Amy's expression turned angry. "_That was two years ago!"_

Viera grimaced and the Doctor flinched, running a hand nervously through his hair. "Ah. Oops. Sorry about that. So that's…"

"Fourteen years," Amy practically growled.

He winced again. "Right. Fourteen years. Well, Amy Pond, the girl who waited, you've waited long enough."

She looked up at the TARDIS, longing in her expression, though she didn't seem quite ready to give in. At least not until the Doctor snapped his fingers. The door swung open, bathing Amy is a soft green-white glow. Dazed, the redhead walked inside.

Viera shared a grin with the Doctor, knowing that there was no way Amy was going to be left behind again. They followed her inside, the Doctor already talking a mile a minute about the places they could go, utterly confident that they'd found a new companion.

Because really, who could ever refuse a chance to travel the stars with a man like the Doctor?

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Didn't have much I wanted to change on this one, so rather than make you read the whole episode again, I thought I'd skip to the end. The next one will hopefully be more interesting. It will likely still take a while though; I have another writing project taking priority at the moment.<p>

Also, it's a little bizarre writing about an Amy because that's my name. ^^;

P.S. This was supposed to be posted _ages_ ago. I finished with the last chapter and apparently just forgot to put it up. Sorry about that. Eesh. It's been a distracted summer. I'll try not to take so long before posting the next bit.


	16. 13:1 Observers Only

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**First Adventures: "Soar" by Josh Kramer**

* * *

><p>PART THIRTEEN – THE BEAST BELOW<p>

Chapter One – Observation Only

The TARDIS was not happy. There was an irritated whine to her constant humming song and she'd been throwing them around with more violence than usual. No matter how the Doctor pleaded and cajoled and threatened, the TARDIS absolutely refused to land where he wanted.

"Is it always like this?" Amy gasped from where she was sprawled on the ground after their fifth rocky attempt at landing.

Viera groaned, pulling herself to her feet. "No. _This_ is all the cat's fault."

Saxon, crouched underneath the plush brown bench like a lion in its den, growled at her.

"Well it is," Viera argued. "She's still mad at you for making us crash earlier. If you hadn't lost it and gone on a rampage we could have gotten you fixed by now."

They'd been trying to get back to the Artificial Adaptation Facility that turned Saxon into a fluffy grey cat ever since they'd picked up Amelia. The TARDIS was not cooperating.

"ARGH!" the Doctor exclaimed, finally giving up on adjusting the controls to flop down on the bench. He deftly moved his ankles out of reach of Saxon's claws before he could draw blood. "There's no use. I give up!" A snarl from underneath him had the Doctor bending over to meet the cat's furious blue eyes. "I'm not giving up forever," he assured, sounding rather exasperated, "but there's no good trying to force her somewhere when she's in a mood like this. We'll give her a chance to cool off then try again. She can't stay mad forever."

Viera wasn't entirely sure about that, but she kept that opinion to herself. She was just glad they could stand still for a while; the bucking TARDIS had started to make her dizzy.

"Does that mean we can go somewhere exciting?" Amy asked, perking up. "All those promises of other worlds and times, and all I've seen so far is the inside of this box. I'm starting to wonder if this thing is even a spaceship after all."

The Doctor gave a slow grin. "Well, we can't have that now can we?" He hoped up from the bench and sprang for the door. Anticipation made his eyes gleam as he turned back towards Amelia, watching her face as he pulled the door open. "Believe me now?"

They were in space, billions of stars scattered across the black depths before them. Brilliant nebula, colored clouds of gas and dust painted the sky with iridescence. Amy's jaw dropped and she leaned out the door, staring.

"Okay. We are in space! We are really, actually in space!" Amy gave an astonished laugh and a cheer. "We are in space! Whoo!" Then a thought occurred and she sniffed. "What are we breathing?"

"Air?" Viera teased.

"I've extended the air shell - we're fine." The Doctor assured with a dismissive wave of his hand. He was grinning, soaking in her awe and joy like sunlight. Movement caught his eye and he beckoned the girls closer, pointing down. "Ooooh, take a look at that."

There was a city floating through space below them. A _human_ city by the looks of the British flag painted on the side. There were skyscrapers and strings of lights to brighten the streets, and it all looked quite a bit like something from Viera's time, like someone had cut out a chunk of New York and stuck it on a massive flying saucer.

"In the 29th Century solar flares roast the earth. The _entire_ human race packs its bags and moves out till the weather improves. Whole nations migrate to the stars. Brilliant!" With a huge grin, the Doctor clapped his hands on their shoulders. "This is the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland - all of it, bolted together and floating in the sky. Starship UK. That's not just a ship; that's an idea. That's a whole country, living and laughing and, and shopping. Searching the stars for a new home." He let them stare another moment before bounding back to the console. "Come on, shut the door, you lot. We're going to land; I've found us a spaceship."

Amy and Viera pulled the doors closed just in time; the ship shuttered and the hummed as they crossed the short distance to the ship. The TARDIS landed almost smoothly and the Doctor turned his attention from the navigational controls to one of the display screens. He fiddled with the settings until it began to show a view of the street outside.

"Can we go out and see?" Amy asked, bouncing up to the Doctor with an excited grin.

"Course we can but first, there's a thing. A very important thing. Can't forget this one thing," the Doctor cautioned, turning to look his newest companion in the eye.

"What thing?" asked Amy.

"We are observers only."

A startled, incredulous snort escaped before Viera could stop it. She covered her mouth and coughed when Amy looked at her. The Doctor ignored her completely, but Viera could see the amusement in his eyes even as he turned up his nose imperiously.

"It's the one rule I've always stuck to in my travels. I never get involved in the affairs of other peoples or planets."

_Always. Always get involved in the affairs of others. _"I think you're getting your adverbs confused," Viera commented with no little amusement. _Honestly, that's the worst lie I've ever heard._ Even now the doctor was focusing the camera on a young, crying girl. That familiar empathy flickered across his expression, and Viera knew it wouldn't be long before they were all neck deep in whatever troubles had upset that child.

Amy peered at the screen, pondering the Doctor's words. "So we're like a wildlife documentary, yeah? Cos if they see a wounded little cub or something, they can't just save it - they've got to keep filming and let it die. That's got to be hard. I don't think I could do that. Don't you find that hard - being all, like, detached and cold?" Amy looked around. "Doctor?"

"Yeah, he's gone," Viera stated dryly, pointing to the screen where the Doctor was crouched next to the little girl. She grinned and reached out to tug on Amy's hand to get her moving. "Come on. What's the point of finding a spaceship if you can't get out and explore?"

Viera hesitated just a moment at the TARDIS doorway. "Coming?" she asked Saxon. The cat just huffed and turned away. "All right, but please stay out of trouble. It's really the only way we're ever going to convince the TARDIS to let us go get you fixed." She winced at her wording. "Put back in the right body. Oh, never mind." She pulled the door shut behind her, really only okay with leaving Saxon there because the Doctor had adjusted the controls so the Time Lord-turned-feline couldn't use them anymore.

Amy was standing still, staring up at the clear ceiling far, far above them. Aside from that it looked a lot like some of the cities Viera had visited back on Earth, oddly familiar and foreign at the same time. There were lots of people and lots of concrete; there were barking dogs and running children, restaurants and construction zones and little shops. The Doctor was leaning against the corner of a stand full of British souvenirs, smiling fondly as he watched them approach.

"Welcome to London Market. You are being monitored," an automated recording played somewhere in the distance.

"I'm in the future. Like hundreds...of years in the future," Amy gasped, turning around as she tried to see everything and looking absolutely stunned. She frowned a little as she reached the Doctor. "I've been dead for centuries."

"Oh, you're a cheery one," the Doctor huffed, ruffling her hair. He slung an arm around each of their shoulders and turned them towards the street. "Never mind that, look at this place!"

"It's amazing," Amy breathed.

"Yeah, but just look. Look." The Doctor pulled away so he could gesture around them. "Doesn't something seem off?"

Viera eyed the Doctor's expression then turned to study their surroundings. Nothing obvious stood out to her as they wandered down the street.

"Is it...the bicycles?" Amy tried. "Bit unusual on a spaceship, bicycles."

The Doctor grinned at her mischievously. "Says the girl in the nightie."

Amy looked down with wide eyes. "Oh, my God! I'm in my nightie."

"Oh, do try to focus," the Doctor scolded. "Now look. _Really_ look. What do you see?"

Her ears were ringing: a faint, distant, high-pitched sound. That wasn't terribly odd, but it was a little annoying. Viera pressed the heel of her hand against one ear because sometimes that got rid of the sound. She still didn't know what the Doctor was talking about, but she was sure he'd explain eventually.

"Now, hold on a minute." The Doctor frowned as his gaze caught on something. He trotted over to a nearby table where a couple people were having lunch and stole one of their water glasses. "Sorry. Just need to check something," he muttered, absently flashing his physic paper as he knelt down to place the glass on the floor.

"What is it?" Viera asked. Sometimes she felt terribly blind; so many things were so obvious to him and more often than not, they just didn't register in her mind. Frankly, the only thing the glass of water made her think of was Jurassic Park and the way the water had vibrated when the T-Rex had been after them. She didn't really think they were on the lookout for dinosaurs, if for no other reason than that the Doctor would probably be a lot more excited.

"Not quite sure yet," he mused, standing again. The Doctor shook his head and turned back to them. "In any case, do you see it?"

"See what?" Amy asked.

"There." The Doctor pointed ahead where the girl they had seen on the display screen was sitting on a red bench, still crying. She'd left when the Doctor had tried to ask her what was wrong, but clearly she hadn't gone far.

Amy frowned in puzzlement as they walked closer. "One little girl crying. So?"

"Crying silently. I mean, children cry 'cause they want attention, 'cause they're hurt or afraid. When they cry silently, it's 'cause they just can't stop. Any parent knows that," the Doctor rambled.

"Are you a parent?" Amy asked, startled.

The Doctor went still half a second, then glanced up and caught Viera's wide-eyed gaze. The old pain in his eyes was answer enough. She'd never thought to ask- she didn't like bringing up the Time Lords and everything he'd lost, and he rarely brought it up himself, but it still felt like that something she should have known.

"There are hundreds of parents walking through here and not one of them is asking her what's wrong," the Doctor thought aloud, deciding to ignore Amy's question completely. "Which means… they already know, and it's something they don't talk about."

"Do you suppose they'd tell us if we asked them?" Viera questioned without much confidence; somehow it was never that easy. They paused to let a small crowd pass, and when the way was clear again, the little girl was gone.

"Where'd she go?" Amy asked.

"Deck 207, Apple Sesame block, Dwelling 54A. You're looking for Mandy Tanner." The Doctor held out a stolen wallet and gave a vaguely apologetic shrug. "I have picked her pocket. You'd better return that," he suggested, looking at them both.

"We're splitting up?" Viera asked, feeling a tremor of unease. She didn't mean to be clingy, but the last time they'd split up she'd ended up blind and alone in a forest full of Weeping Angels. Admittedly, that wasn't likely to happen on the Starship, but she preferred having the Doctor around when things got complicated.

"Well, someone's got to get that back to Mandy. And ask her about those. Ask her why people are scared of the things in the booths." he stated, drawing out the last word like his mouth didn't quite want to wrap around it. "Booths. Such a funny word, booths."

Viera smirked, glancing at the nearby odd metal man in his little glass room. "Because they're creepy?" she guessed.

"Well, yes, there is that."

"How do you know people are scared of them?" Amy questioned.

"Because they're clean." The Doctor nodded back towards the street behind them. "Everything else here is dirty and battered, but no one's laid a finger on those booths. Even the ground in clean for about two feet around all of them because no one is willing to walk that close."

"Why aren't you coming with us?" Viera pressed, searching his face for any signs that he was about to go off and do something dangerous on his own.

"Oh, you know, things to do," he hedged. When her frown deepened the Doctor made a face and ran a hand through his messy hair. He lowered his voice and leaned in closer, which sent a tremor of something entirely through Viera. "Something else is off. With a ship this big, the engine ought to be big as well and we should be able to hear them, feel them. There isn't any vibration."

"The glass of water," Viera murmured, finally understanding.

"Yeah. Just going to go check things out, see what makes this thing tick."

If he was going to be fiddling with mechanical stuff, she'd rather go after the little girl anyways. She still couldn't completely bury the feeling that things were going to go badly if they separated, but as there wasn't a logical reason for it, Viera shook it off.

"All right. Do _try_ to stay out of trouble, won't you?"

"Good luck with that one," Amy chimed in dubiously.

"Oi."

Amelia Pond just smirked at him. "So is this how it works, Doctor? You never interfere in the affairs of other people or planets unless there's children crying?"

"Or a distress signal. Or someone asks for help. Or it's Tuesday," Viera added, grinning.

The Doctor huffed. "Yes, all right. Don't you two have somewhere to be?"

Viera wrinkled her nose at him and turned to Amy. "Come on. We'll come back to rescue him later," she sighed, taking Amy's arm. She heard the Doctor muttering as they trotted off down the corridors.

"Fantastic. Now I'm outnumbered again. I had to go and pick up another ginger."

Viera glanced at Amy and rolled her eyes, making the redhead grin. They paused at a street sign, and Viera tried to figure out if they were even on the right deck.

"Another ginger?" Amy asked. "There have been others then? I mean of course there have been others but- I suppose I never really thought about it like that." She seemed to understand the layout of the ship better than Viera and soon she took the lead. Viera didn't mind; she got lost far too easily on her own.

It wasn't hard to pick up the strains of disappointment in Amy's voice, especially since she understood the feeling. "It's funny isn't it? When you're with him, the Doctor makes you feel like… like you're the one, maybe the only one in the universe who belongs there beside him, running and getting in and out of danger. But he's lived such a long time," Viera mused, thinking again about the fact that he was, or rather had been a father and she'd never known. He'd had so many centuries, so much history without her. Then again, she had history without him as well, though not as much and not nearly so eventful. "And he makes friends so easily. I imagine he's had quite a lot of companions." She shrugged and smiled at Amy. "But whatever the past, you're here _now_. You belong here now, running and getting into trouble and, with any luck, back out again. And you, Amelia Pond, are absolutely, utterly unique. You may not be the first companion, but you are the first you and that's just as important."

They nearly ran into the little girl they'd been looking for. Mandy stepped out into their path and studied them with narrowed eyes, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You're following me. Saw you watching me at the marketplace."

"You dropped this," Amy offered as explanation, holding out the wallet.

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, when you're friend took it out of my pocket." She snatched back her wallet and stuffed it into a pocket as she walked away. Amy and Viera exchanged a glance then followed. They caught up to her around the corner where the street was blocked off by a black and yellow fence with a great big sign ordering them to 'keep out'. There was a red and white striped tent set up behind the fence, taking up the center part of the road.

"What's that?" Amy asked.

Mandy looked troubled. "There's a hole. We have to go back."

"Can't we just go around it?" inquired Viera, wondering why the girl looked so worried. The tent didn't take up the entire road; it had to be easier to walk around the edge than to completely change their route.

Mandy looked incredulous. "Are you stupid? There's a _hole_. We can't go that way. There's a travel pipe down by the airlocks, if you've got stamps. What are you doing?" she demanded as Amy blithely slipped past the folding fence.

"Oh, don't mind me. Never could resist a "keep out" sign," the redhead chirped. She motioned towards the tent. "What's through there? What's so scary about a hole? Something under the road?"

"Amy, please be careful," Viera cautioned as her new friend sat down to examine the lock. She caught Mandy glancing nervously to the side and followed her gaze. There was a booth there, with the same metal man inside smiling that creepy smile. He looked a bit like a clown though less colorful.

"Nobody knows. We're not supposed to talk about it," Mandy replied

"About what?"

"Below."

"And because you're not supposed to, you don't? Watch and learn." Amy smirked as she began to pick the lock.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Viera asked curiously. That could definitely come in handy. The sonic screwdrivers always seemed to get lost at the worst times. "Would you mind teaching me?"

"Not at all!" Amy exclaimed with a proudly mischievous grin.

"You sound Scottish," Mandy observed.

"I am Scottish. What's wrong with that? Scotland's got to be here somewhere."

"No. They wanted their own ship."

"Hmm. Good for them. Nothing changes," Amy replied.

"So...how did you get here?"

"Oh, just passing through, you know, with a guy."

"Your boyfriend?"

"No, hers."

A flush spread across Viera's face immediately. "He-he's not my boyfriend," she stammered.

Amy turned around to give her a startled look. "What? Are you married?" Her curious gaze dropped to Viera's hands, unadorned except for the bio-dampener on her right hand. Viera fiddled with the ring nervously.

"No. We're just-" She meant to say 'friends', really she did, but the word wouldn't come out. They _were_ friends, but they weren't really _just_ anything, at least as far as she was concerned. "Complicated."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. It's just, when I was little it was always the 'The Doctor and Viera' and I guess I just assumed…" Amy trailed off awkwardly and went back to picking the lock. "You know… I'm getting married."

"What?" Viera opened her mouth, then closed it again, struggling a bit with the image of the little Scottish girl she'd been when they first met her. _They do grow up quickly_. "To who?"

"Rory. The nurse," Amy stated after a moment's hesitation, determinedly focused on the lock in her hands.

"Congratulations," Viera stated a bit belatedly, still reeling a bit from the announcement. "He seemed sweet."

"Yeah. He is."

"You don't sound very excited," Mandy remarked.

"Shut up," Amy replied, not meanly but almost embarrassed. "It's just… a really big deal you know? Getting married. Really, actually married."

_A case of cold feet?_ Viera wondered. Amy sounded a little overwhelmed. "When's the wedding?"

"Tomorrow. A long time ago, tomorrow morning," Amy replied with a slight laugh. Before Viera could think of any sort of reply, there was a soft click and the lock popped open. "Hey, hey! Result!" Amy stood and grinned back at Mandy. "Coming?"

"No!" the little girl protested vehemently. She was scared. It wasn't just an intention to follow rules, she was actually scared of something.

"What's so bad about the hole in the road?" Viera asked Mandy quietly.

"You mustn't." The girl shook her head and glanced over her shoulder at the man in the booth. His face had changed. Instead of a benign smile, a furious scowl distorted its face: bared teeth and lowered brows over blank, crimson eyes.

_Geez, and I thought they were creepy before. Maybe we should come back with the Doctor._ "Amy-" Viera looked back to find that her companion had already gone into the tent. "Shoot. Stay here," she told Mandy, slipping past the gate herself. She was in such a hurry to find Amy that she nearly ran into her. Amelia had frozen just inside the tent, staring wide-eyed at a tentacle coming out of a hole in the ground. It swayed and Viera caught hold of Amy's arm as she saw the light gleam off a sharp, curved point at the top like the tip of a scorpion's tail.

"Oh, my God. That's weird. That's-" Amy cut off with a shriek as the stinger swung down at them and they were forced to duck.

"Time to go!" Viera exclaimed. They nearly tripped over each other scrambling back out of the tent, only to find themselves surrounded by strangers in black hooded coats. They each had a key hanging around their neck, the sort that was used for old wind-up toys. They did not look pleased. _Out of the frying pan and into the fire._ "Listen, we just-"

One of them held a hand in front of her face. She tried to jerk back as something sprayed from his ring, but she couldn't help the instinctive startled gasp. There was the brief scent of something unpleasantly sharp and then everything went black.


	17. 13:2 Playing Jonah

**IMPORTANT; PLEASE READ: **_**I had to rearrange things a little. It makes more sense for them to go straight here (more or less) after picking up Amelia, so I'm moving the interlude with the family dream after this part. That means there's a new chapter that replaced the interlude; please go back read that one before you read this one.**_

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><p>Supplemental Soundtrack:<p>

**Secrets of the Empire: "Spectrum of the Sky" by Break of Reality**

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><p>PART THIRTEEN – THE BEAST BELOW<p>

Chapter Two – Playing Jonah

Everything was blurry. Viera hissed in vague irritation as she squinted and tried to will the world back into clarity. A slightly grimy metal room finally coalesced into view and with it came her memories. "Well, apparently they weren't out to kill us," Viera muttered as the haze of drugged sleep lifted. Alarm jolted through her system then. "Amy?" she checked, sitting up suddenly enough to make her head spin. She winced and pressed a hand to her head; her ears were still faintly ringing.

"Fine," the other woman groaned. "Where are we?" Amy sat up from where she'd been slumped in a chair.

Viera had been laid out on the floor beside her but there was no one else in the room, unless you counted the creepy clown man in the booth. Viera could only hope that Mandy was safe and sound somewhere else.

"Welcome to voting cubicle 330C," came a greeting from a speaker. There were four little displays stacked in front of Amy's chair, all with the same welcome screen playing.

"What is going on?" Amy muttered, looking around.

"I don't know," Viera replied. "If we're in trouble for going into that tent, why would they put us in a voting booth?" There were buttons in front of the computer screens: protest, record, forget. "Forget? What in the world-"

"Please leave this installation as you would wish to find it. The United Kingdom recognizes the right to know of all its citizens," the speaker continued. "A presentation concerning the history of Starship UK will begin shortly. Your identity is being verified on our electoral roll." Amy sat back down as her name appeared on the screens. Viera stood nearby, eying the man in the booth a bit nervously. It had its smiling face on rather than its snarling one, but that didn't make her feel all that much better. _What is going on?_

"Name - Amelia Jessica Pond. ' Age - 1,306," stated the computer. Amy gave a startled laugh. "Marital status-" She stiffened, all amusement vanishing as she watched the screen like it held the answers to the universe.

_A bit more than cold feet then?_ Viera wondered.

"Unknown," the computer declared. Amy slumped in the chair, but there was no time to ask her about it. A video started playing: an older man stood in front of the camera, solemnly explaining.

"You are here because you want to know the truth about this starship, and I am talking to you because you're entitled to know. When this presentation has finished, you will have a choice. You may either protest...or forget. If you choose to protest, understand this. If just 1% of the population of this ship does likewise, the program will be discontinued, with consequences for you all. If you choose to accept the situation - and we hope that you will - then press the "forget" button. All the information I am about to give you will be erased from your memory. You will continue to enjoy the safety and amenities of Starship UK, unburdened by the knowledge of what has been done to save you. Here, then, is the truth about Starship UK, and the price that has been paid for the safety of the British people. May God have mercy on our souls."

"Well that sounds encouraging," Viera murmured sarcastically, leaning against the back of the chair to watch the video over Amy's shoulder.

Any thoughts of sarcasm or humor or even worry about their situation soon vanished, drowned beneath the terrible, dreadful truth.

"The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us, and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. Our nation was on the brink of destruction. But at last we found a way," the video explained. Images of burning buildings and crying children were replaced by a blurry video of a creature that looked more like it belonged in the sea than in the sky. "The creature you are looking at is called a star whale. Once, there were millions of them. They lived in the depths of space and, according to legend, guided the early space travelers through the asteroid belts. This one, as far as we are aware, is the last of its kind. We had no other way to survive. We trapped it, built our ship around it, and made it carry us to safety. To keep this creature under control we send electric shocks directly into its brain," the old man stated, his voice quiet but steady. Viera felt like she couldn't breathe. An image of a patch of exposed brain being stabbed by bolts of energy flickered across the screen.

"It is a terribly thing we do, the animal lives in pain, but it is the only way. We have done what we must to save this nation, to save you. But we leave the decision in your hands. If even 1% of the population protests this reality, the star whale will be released and our ship will disintegrate, killing everyone on board. _Or_, you can choose to forget, to go back to your life free of this knowledge. The choice is yours."

The video ended on that grim note and for a long moment both women were still, just reeling under the weight of what they'd learned. Viera finally noticed that Amy was crying and she put a hand on the redhead's shoulder, struggling to find something to say that would sound vaguely comforting.

Then Amy stiffened and reached for the 'forget' button.

"Stop!" For once her reflexes were fast enough. Viera lunged and grabbed Amy's wrist just in time. "What are you doing?" They wrestled just a moment before Amy jerked away and Viera positioned herself in front of the buttons.

The redhead was crying. "I don't want to know this. I don't-" Amy swiped at her tears and shook her head furiously. "We have to get off this ship. We can't let the Doctor find out. Knowing this- It would tear him apart. We have to get him off this ship!"

It _would_ tear him apart, knowing what they'd done, what they were doing. It would break his heart. "We can't just leave things like this. The whale-"

"There's nothing we can do! You heard what they said!" Amy exclaimed, waving wilding at the video screen. "It's the whale or the entire British population." Her voice broke, pleading. "He shouldn't have to choose."

Viera bit her lip, trying desperately not to think of worst-case scenarios. "Maybe there's another way."

"What other way?! Don't you think they'd have found it if they could? There isn't anything we can do-"

"_There has to be!_" Viera shouted, startling herself nearly as much as Amy. She swallowed and pressed the back of her hand against her mouth, fighting the urge to scream or break down sobbing or just start throwing things in helpless rage. This was impossible, unreal. Choosing between the torture of an innocent creature and the survival of the British people… Viera shook her head, moving a hand towards the 'protest' button behind her. "There has to be."

There was a rapid knocking at the door and both girls jump.

"Amy? Viera? Are you in there?" the Doctor called.

They looked at each other a long moment. "We're here," Viera yelled back, her voice rather shaky.

"Everything all right in there?" he asked over the familiar hum of the sonic screwdriver.

_How are we supposed to answer that?_ "Just- Can you get the door open?" Viera asked instead.

"Give me a minute. The door is being stubborn."

"It's probably not supposed to let us out until we vote," Amy mused listlessly, frowning at the buttons beneath the video screen.

"Ah, there we go!" The door slid back and the Doctor bounded in, full of energy as usual, though his grin faded abruptly upon seeing their expressions. "What's this then?"

"Unauthorized entry! Unauthorized entry!" the computer protested, distracting them all. The video screen flickered with the image of the mechanical man in the booth snarling at them, identical to the one in the booth tucked into the corner. "All occupants must be purged!" And with that the floor dropped out from beneath them. Viera just barely caught sight of wide-eyed Mandy hovering in the doorway before gravity took her and they fell.

"Whoo-whooooooooo!" the Doctor shouted gleefully as they were flung down a long chute.

"AAaaaaaaahhhh!" Amy and Viera echoed his yell with a bit less joy. Viera had never been fond of either falling or rollercoasters, and the tunnel was a bad mix of both. She rather missed the ride when it ended and they were all thrown to the wet, smelly ground with a squish.

"Oh, that's just- gross," Viera gasped, climbing carefully to her feet. The floor tried to slide out from under her and she swayed unsteadily. Nearby Amy slipped and landed on her side with a splash. The Doctor wasn't far off either, barely keeping his lanky frame upright as his arms flailed for balance. She supposed they were just lucky they hadn't landed on top of each other.

"High-speed air cannon. Lousy way to travel," the Doctor remarked absently, looking up and scanning the ceiling with his screwdriver.

"Where are we?" Amy asked, picking bits of… stuff off her nightshirt.

"600 feet down. We're at the heart of the ship! What's this, then - a cave? Can't be a cave. Looks like a cave."

"It's a rubbish dump," Amy groaned. "And it's minging."

"Minging?" Viera mouthed the unfamiliar word, grimacing faintly as her head complained; the crazy ride, the emotional rollercoaster of the last few minutes, and the stress of what lay ahead felt like they were curling around her thoughts and squeezing like a python.

"Yes, but only food refuse." The Doctor drew in a deep breath through his nose, and Viera grimaced. She supposed she should be glad he hadn't tasted anything yet. He did have a disturbing habit of licking things. "Organic, coming through feeder tubes from all over the ship."

"Wait," Viera stated, finally looking up from her shaky feet. "_Feeding _tubes?" She caught Amy's gaze and stricken realization spread across both their faces.

"What? What is it? What'd I miss?" the Doctor pried, eying them both suspiciously.

"Doctor…" Viera started. A rumbling from deeper in the 'cave' cut her off. They all looked out into the darkness for a long moment.

"A mouth!" the Doctor exclaimed suddenly. Wonder spread across his face as he turned a wobbly circle, staring around them. "We're in great big _mouth_! This creature must be _enormous_!"

"And it's eating us!" Amy reminded him, caught somewhere between amused and appalled by his reaction.

"What? Oh. Right. Probably not the best way to study a new creature." The Doctor peered at the tube above them. "It's been fed through surgically implanted feeder tubes, so the normal entrance is… closed for business," he muttered.

Viera followed his gaze to the great wall of jagged teeth, firmly closed.

"We can try though," Amy decided, beginning to make her way forward.

"No, wait!" the Doctor yelped. The floor, or tongue as it were, began shaking. It felt like an earthquake, but considering they were in a mouth… "Oh, too late. You've done it now."

"What's it doing?" Viera asked, fairly certain she didn't really want to know.

The Doctor gave her a bemused little grin, a little disturbed himself but still enjoying the feel of a new experience far more than he should. "We triggered its swallow reflex."

"Perfect," Viera sighed.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked as the Doctor pointed the screwdriver towards the back of the creature's throat.

"I'm vibrating the chemo-receptors."

"The what?"

"The eject button."

Viera groaned.

"How does a mouth have an eject button?"

"You're about to find out!" the Doctor shouted over the groans of the beast. He straightened his jacket and sighed a little. "Well, this isn't going to be big on dignity."

Viera gave him an annoyed look, which he answered with a grin. Then she took a deep breath and held it, folding her arms over her head as the sound of a flood rushed up behind them.


	18. 13:3 The Smilers

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**The Weight of Truth: "Azure" by Corner Stone Cues**

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><p>PART THIRTEEN – THE BEAST BELOW<p>

Chapter Three – The Smilers

They were caught in a great wave of, well, Viera was trying very hard not to think about that. They were tossed about, rolled over and over helpless in the force of it, then thrown against something hard. Viera lay stunned for several seconds, curled up in a ball, before she realized that the world had stopped moving. She took a deep, gasping breath, which turned out to be a mistake. The scent of bile and half-digested food, and just the _thought_ of it all over her was too much; her stomach heaved.

"Oh, we are never doing that again," Viera complained when she could finally open her mouth without being sick. The Doctor had just finished checking over their unconscious companion. He moved over to her and did a quick scan with the screwdriver.

"Nothing serious," he murmured, asking as much as he was telling. Despite the readings from the scan he was watching her carefully.

"Just the smell," Viera agreed with a grimace. She nodded towards Amy. "She all right?"

"Just got knocked about. She'll be fine," the Doctor stated. He offered her a hand up, and Viera climbed unsteadily to her feet. The floor was slick but at least it wasn't moving beneath her. They were in a long, metal tunnel with drains on the side that had gotten rid of most of the mess.

"I suppose that's why Mandy was so afraid of breaking the rules. Troublemakers get sent 'below'," Viera mused. The Doctor was studying her still, and she held his hand tighter in both of hers, ignoring the fact that they were both filthy. It was probably time to explain. "Doctor, that voting booth… They said British citizens had a right to know, but at the end- they offered the chance to forget, to go on with their lives and not have to know…"

"To know what?"

"It's a star whale," she murmured, motioning back down the tunnel towards the mouth they'd just been in. She couldn't look at him. Viera saw Amy stirring behind him, but she wasn't willing to be interrupted again. "They trapped it, built their ship around it. They said if they let it go, everyone on board would die, but Doctor…" Viera looked up at last. "They're hurting it. To 'keep it under control', to keep it moving, they're-"

The Doctor stepped back, horror and anger flickering across his expression before he settled on determination. He stalked towards the door, his fist clinching around the sonic screwdriver as he drew it from his jacket and started scanning the rim of the door.

"They said there wasn't another way, that it was the whale or the entire British population," Amy murmured, sounding defeated as she leveraged herself to her feet. Viera wondered if she was wishing that they had chosen to forget after all.

"There's always another way," the Doctor growled past gritted teeth, not turning away from the door.

That was a lie, of course. The Doctor knew better than anyone that there wasn't always another way, that there wasn't always a good choice. He'd killed nearly his entire race for the safety of the rest of the universe because there hadn't been a better option. But there were some things it was important to believe in whether or not they were actually true.

_There has to be another way._ They'd towed the earth once; perhaps they could tow the ship to safety after they let the whale go. But then… the ship was built around the whale; it would fall apart when it left. Still, surely the Doctor could find a way around that, find some way to keep it together long enough to get them to another planet somewhere.

"Come on!" the Doctor snapped, jerking Viera out of her thoughts as he slammed a fist against the door in frustration. He scowled at the 'forget' button next to it. "One door, one door switch, one condition. Not letting us out of here unless we agree to forget, is that it? Well that's not going to happen!" he shouted.

"Doctor-" Viera started. Then the lights behind them switched on and they all turned to look at two Smilers in their booths at the other end of the hallway. The Doctor stalked towards them, and the two women followed

"What are you here for? Scaring people into forgetting?" he demanded of those silent, smiling faces. Well, used to be smiling. Their head turned around with the sound of winding gears until they both displayed frowning faces. "Who is responsible for this? Who's shoving people down this poor creature's throat? Where is the control room?" The heads of those men in the booths turned again, displaying the snarling, red-eyed faces they'd seen before getting dropped into the feeding tube. "Is that supposed to scare me?" the Doctor laughed. "Blimey, you are _thick_. I'm not forgetting and I am not leaving without answers. You've already tried to feed us to the whale; that obviously didn't work!"

The Doctor stepped right up to the glass, leaning down so his face was as close to theirs as he could get. "So what are you going to do about it?" he challenged quietly.

There was a click and a creak as the front of the booths swung open; the Doctor had to leap back out of the way.

"Oh, you just had to ask," Viera said as the mechanical men slowly stood and stepped towards them.

"Yeah, well…" The Doctor shrugged one shoulder a bit sheepishly. The three of them backed away. "Now we know."

"Doctor?" Amy asked nervously as the snarling men stalked them. There was the hiss of a door seal opening behind them and they all glanced back to see a woman in a red cloak raise a gun. With fierce determination on her face, she shot the two Smilers and they went down with a crack and hiss of broken mechanics. The woman slid the gun into its holster on her hip.

"Well, look who it is," the Doctor greeted. "Dunno what you were hiding behind that mask for; you look a good deal better without it."

She gave a confident little smirk and walked up to his companions. "You must be Viera and Amy. Liz. Liz Ten."

"Hi," Amy said, taking the offered hand. Liz flinched when their hands made a squelching sound and pulled away.

"Hello," Viera echoed, fighting a grin. Then she looked down at herself and grimaced. What she wouldn't give for a shower.

"Er, yes. Lovely to meet you." Liz wiped her hand on the edge of her cloak. She stepped towards the door and waved a young girl in. "You know Mandy, yeah? She's very brave."

The Doctor grinned at Mandy before returning his attention to Liz. "How did you find us?"

"Stuck my gizmo on you. It quit working sometime after you got spit out, so I couldn't listen in, but the tracker held on. Nice moves on the hurl escape. So, what's the big fella doing here?"

Something hardened in the Doctor's tone and gaze. "You're old enough for voting rights. This 'big fella', you've chosen to forget about him."

"No. Never forgot, never voted, not technically a British subject," Liz stated.

"Then who and what are you, and how do you know me?"

"You're a bit hard to miss, love. Mysterious stranger, MO consistent with higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot."

"Oi. I have great hair!" he protested, reaching up to cover his hair protectively. He flinched when he remembered it was covered in sick, then pouted.

There was mechanical clicking at the other end of the tunnel. Viera grimaced at the sight of twitching Smilers.

"Resilient, aren't they?" she muttered.

"They're repairing. Doesn't take them long," said Liz. "Let's move." They followed her out of the room into another road, this one completely absent of people.

"Wait. Did you say _alien_?" Amy interrupted, jogging up to the Doctor. "But- You look human." Viera walked next to Mandy a few steps back, occasionally glancing behind them.

"You look Time Lord," the Doctor disagreed. "We came first."

"So there are other Time Lords, yeah?"

The Doctor hesitated a step, but replied without looking at her. "Not anymore, no. Well, yes. Welllll, sort of. You know that cat you said couldn't understand me because it was just a cat?"

Amy gave him a look like she suspected he was pulling her leg. "You're telling me that you came from a race of cats?"

"What?! No!" the Doctor exclaimed, finally looking at her, exasperation written all over his face. "He _used_ to be a Time Lord. Looked like me. Well, not exactly like me, he was very…" the Doctor wiggled his fingers over his head with a grimace as he looked for the right words, "blond."

"And crazy," Viera added.

The Doctor huffed and turned back to Liz. "Aaaanyways…"

"I've been brought up on the stories. My whole family was."

"Your family?"

"The Doctor. Old drinking buddy of Henry XII. Tea and scones with Liz II. Vicky was a bit on the fence about you, weren't she? Knighted and exiled you on the same day."

"Doctor-" Viera started, spotting a Smiler coming around the corner behind them. Another rose slowly from its booth as they passed.

"Liz Ten?" the Doctor interrupted with a quick glance back to gauge how much time they had.

"Liz Ten, yeah. Elizabeth the Tenth. And down!" she ordered, spinning around with two guns in hand. They all ducked. She shot the Smilers with expert aim and they fell. Liz chucked and grinned at the looks on their faces. "I'm the bloody Queen, mate. Basically, I rule."

"So you're in charge of this ship," the Doctor mused as they got to their feet and hurried down a side street, "this whole country. How is it that you don't know what's going on?"

Viera couldn't see Liz's face, but she could hear the anger in her voice. "My government is keeping secrets from me." She picked up the pace, then paused to open a door. "This way. In here." She ushered them through and locked the door behind them.

They were in a long corridor with bars blocking off a hallway to one side. It was clear why: a tentacle like the one that had nearly skewered Amy and Viera had broken through the floor. It was smashing against the bars, trying to get to them.

"There's a high-speed Vator through there," said Liz. She turned and eyed the tentacle with a frown. "Oh, yeah. There's these things. Any ideas?"

"Doctor, we saw one of these up top," Amy offered. "There was a hole in the road, like it had burst through, like a root."

"Exactly like a root, or a feeler. It's all part of the same creature. The star whale is reaching out," the Doctor murmured sadly. "It must be growing through the mechanisms of the entire ship."

_Reaching out. Trying to stop the pain? Trying to get free?_ Viera bit her lip as they watched the tentacle lash out again and again. _I'm sorry. I'm promise, we'll make this stop. There has to be a way._

"What, like an infestation?" Liz asked.

"No," the Doctor stated coldly. He straightened from where he'd been leaning against the bars, scanning the feeler with the sonic screwdriver. "It's not invading your ship; it's _trapped_ here."

"What do you mean?" Liz queried. The Doctor just met her eyes silently, his mouth clamped shut and his whole body tense. He wasn't sure he trusted her, he wasn't sure he believed that she was innocent of what was being done, and he wasn't in any mood to cater to the humans responsible for causing such pain. "Doctor, someone's been feeding my subjects to that thing. I demand answers!" For a moment they stood toe to toe, stubborn aggression on both their faces, but then Liz's stance shifted a little and the Doctor's expression softened slightly in response. "I _need_ answers. My people need help."

There was the sound of distant footsteps growing closer and the Doctor finally backed down. "Not here."

Liz didn't look happy, but she nodded. "You're right. We've got to keep moving. Come on."

They started off again at a faster pace, no longer lingering to talk. Viera was thoroughly lost before long as they turned corner after corner, hurrying down side streets and hallways until they finally found themselves in the Queen's rooms. There was a luxurious bed in one corner, a fireplace on the opposite wall, and plush rugs on the floor. It was lovely; the dozens of half-filled glasses in the far corner through off the décor a bit though.

"What's with all the glasses?" Amy asked.

"To remind me every single day that my government is up to something, and it's my duty to find out what."

The Doctor studied her, still trying to figure out whether she was being entirely honest. "A queen going undercover to investigate her own kingdom?"

"Secrets are being kept from me," repeated Liz, frustrated. "I don't have a choice. Ten years I've been at this - my entire reign - and you've achieved more in one afternoon."

The Doctor paced around the room as they talked, pausing when he reached the white mask Liz had set on a chair. He studied it like it held some sort of answer, though Viera couldn't tell whether it was something important or if it just made him think of a fond memory.

"Wait," he said, pausing to tilt his head at the Queen. "How old were you when you came to the throne?"

"Fourty. Why?"

Amy looked up from where she'd been peering into a side room. "What, you're 50 now? No way!"

"Yeah, they slowed my body clock. Keeps me looking like the stamps."

"Really? They can do that?" Viera asked, perking up and giving Liz her full attention. She ignored the odd looks at her eagerness from the others. Her mind raced, fueled by crazy hopes and wishes. What if Jack could have centuries more with Ianto instead of half a dozen decades at most? What if she could stay longer with the Doctor? Would he want that? Would he tire of her company? There was no question of whether she'd want it. Even if they were never more than friends, Viera would stay with him until the end of the universe, the end of time, the end of everything if she could manage it.

"Do you actually live longer or is your body just younger for the same lifespan?"

"I… I don't-." Oddly enough, the question seemed to stump the Queen for a moment. "I'll live a bit longer than usual, I suppose. I don't really pay attention to the science. Why? You're a bit young to be looking for the fountain of youth."

Viera shrugged one shoulder, rather forcefully stopping herself from glancing at the Doctor. "Just curious."

"Can we focus on the issue at hand for a moment?" the Doctor interrupted, waving the mask with his left hand. "Do you always wear this in public?"

"Undercover's not easy when you're me. The autographs, the bunting."

The Doctor hummed and turned to show the mask to Amy and Viera. "Air-balanced porcelain. It stays on by itself because it's perfectly sculpted to her face."

"Okay… is that important?" said Amy.

"Oh, very," he said turning back to look at the Queen. "Liz, the truth has been right under your nose this whole time." He looked down at the mask. "Or right over your nose, to be exact." The Doctor took a deep breath, his expression opening up subtly as though he'd finally decided to trust her. Or at least trust her enough to explain. "That creature down below, it's a star whale-"

The door to the hallway opened with a creak and Viera took a step back as the cloaked men from earlier walked into the room. Amy looked at her and they nudged Mandy behind them.

"What are you doing here?" Liz demanded, standing. "How dare you come in here?"

"Ma'am, you have expressed interest in the interior workings of Starship UK," said one of the men. His voice was a respectful monotone, but he looked a little less than pleased when the Doctor got into his personal space to study him. "You will come with us now."

Liz lifted her chin. "Why would I do that?"

Viera sucked in a startled breath as the man's head turned with a familiar mechanical clicking and his face was replaced by the snarl of a Smiler.

The Queen stepped back, just as surprised. "How can they be Smilers?"

"Half Smiler, half human," the Doctor mused, scanning one with the screwdriver. He looked less enthusiastic than usual despite the new discovery. The fate of the star whale must be weighing heavily on his mind. Viera imaged that meant he didn't have a plan just yet.

Liz stepped up to the one who had spoken, unafraid or at least not showing fear. "Whatever you creatures are, I am still your queen. On whose authority is this done?"

"The highest authority, Ma'am."

"I _am_ the highest authority."

"Yes, ma'am. You must go now, Ma'am," the Smiler stated, still respectful

"Where?"

"The Tower, Ma'am."


	19. 13:4 The Very Last

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**Tragedy & Kindness: Soul of the Whale: "Sweet Rain" by Bill Douglas**

* * *

><p>PART THIRTEEN – THE BEAST BELOW<p>

Chapter Four – The Very Last

They were taken deep into the ship, down two separate elevators and through a long stone corridor that felt like it belonged to an old castle rather than a spaceship. At last the Smilers herded them through a doorway and into what looked like some sort of control room.

"Doctor, where are we?" asked Amy.

"The lowest point of Starship UK: the dungeon."

"Lovely." Viera grimaced and looked around, eying the computer consoles and wondering how they were going to get out of trouble this time.

"There are children down here. Why?" the Doctor asked. Viera turned to see Mandy trying to talk to a dazed little boy. There were half a dozen of them wandering through the room.

"Protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. For some reason, it won't eat the children," the steward stated dryly.

"You fed them to the whale?" Viera asked, appalled. Would they even have cared if the whale _had_ eaten the children?

The steward seemed unconcerned. "You're the first adults it's spared. You're very lucky."

"Oh, yeah, lucky: that's us," the Doctor muttered. Viera followed him further into the room, freezing when she caught sight of a metal funnel poised over an opening in the floor. Energy shot down through the funnel and she jumped when it shot down into the well below, into what Viera knew was the whale's brain. Seeing it on the video wasn't at all the same as seeing for herself. The horror took her breath away.

She took an automatic step forward, only to be stopped by the unyielding grip of the nearest Smiler-human hybrid. "Doctor…"

His eyes were dark and grim when he glanced her way. "I know." The Smilers didn't stop him when he made his way closer to stare down into the well. They let Viera go too once it seemed like she wasn't going to do anything rash. She didn't. She didn't even move closer. She didn't want to see what was happening.

"What's that?" asked the Queen.

The Steward was silent, so the Doctor answered. "That is the gas pedal, the accelerator: Starship UK's go-faster button. It is also the exposed pain center of the star whale's brain."

"I don't understand."

"Don't you?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerous as he stalked around the room towards her. The Queen stepped back. "This spaceship that could never fly, no vibration on deck. This creature - this poor, trapped, _terrified_ creature," he spat furiously. "It's not infesting you, it's not invading - it's what you have instead of an engine! And this place down here is where you hurt it, where you torture it, day after day, just to keep it moving." He dug through his pockets. "Normally, it's above the range of human hearing, its cries for help. Let me lend you an ear," the Doctor growled, lifting the sonic screwdriver. "_This_ is the sound none of you wanted to hear."

It was terrible, the screaming. High pitched and overwhelmed with pain, and none of them had ever heard. They'd all chosen to ignore it, to forget.

The sound drilled into her ears relentlessly, causing a vicious headache to flare. Viera hissed and stepped forward, intending on catching the Doctor's arm, on making it quiet again until they could find a way to fix things. The Smiler behind her must have thought she was trying something else because it grabbed for her, catching her hand. It might have been fine if she'd gotten a chance to clean up, but her skin was still slick from being in the whale's mouth, and the little gold ring on her right hand slid right off her finger in the Smiler's grip.

Without the bio-dampener there was nothing to protect her mind, and the whale was desperately reaching out with everything it had. Agony, fierce and endless and pleading, crashed down on her. Viera couldn't even scream, her breath stolen away by the depthless pain of another. She doubled over and tried to cover her head with her hands.

"No." The gasped word barely made a sound as it left her lips. "Stop." There was no other thought in her mind besides the desperation to make it end, to answer that plea. Viera lunged forward and scrambled atop the railing that surrounded the exposed brain. She couldn't hear the other's yelling for her to stop, she couldn't even hear the Doctor; there was only the voice of the whale.

Viera clung to the rail and reached out a hand, catching the next bolt of electricity before it could stab into the star whale's brain. It skittered down the power channels in her arm and settled inside. Then finally, _finally_ the searing pain in the back of her mind began to ease.

Too focused on the whale and the energy the machine continued to shoot into her grasp, Viera didn't hear the sound of a gun cocking behind her.

* * *

><p>"Stop her!" the steward ordered, frantic. "She's going to kill us all!"<p>

"Don't you touch her!" the Doctor barked, brandishing his sonic screwdriver at the cyborg-hybrids. "Don't you _dare_." Their faces twisted into angry snarls with red eyes as they tried to edge around him.

The ship shuttered beneath them and they all tumbled sideways, trying to hold on to whatever they could. In the wake of the chaos, the steward lunged for the Queen and managed to get ahold of her gun before she shoved him away. Desperate, he raised it to aim at Viera, hesitating only when the Doctor stepped in front of her.

"She's going to kill everyone on this ship," the steward repeated, threatening and pleading and a heartbeat away from pulling the trigger. "Get out of my way."

"Stop!" Amy yelled. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed the steward's arm. "Don't you get it? It's not leaving! _It's not leaving_!"

The whole deck went still and quiet. Aside from that one sudden jolt, the ship was perfectly fine. It hadn't fallen apart. The whale hadn't abandoned them.

"See? It's still here. Ship's fine, am I right?" Amy demanded, turning towards the nearest techs.

It was the steward who examined the readings. "We've increased speed."

"Yeah, well, you've stopped torturing the pilot," Amy pointed out snappishly. "Gotta help."

"Turn the machine off," the Doctor demanded, still looking like he was on the edge of doing something dangerous as he pointed to the sharp point above the whale's brain crackling with electricity. "Right now. Turn it off."

Hawthorn hesitated, looking at the Queen. "Do it," she ordered immediately.

"I'm afraid we don't have the authority, Ma'am. That's something you will have to do." Quiet and grim, the steward led Liz to a video screen nearby with two glowing buttons sitting below it: 'forget' and 'abdicate'. He left the gun on the ground behind him. "We work for you, Ma'am. The Winders, the Smilers, all of us."

"What?" Liz breathed, but then the video was playing and she had far more answers than she wanted.

"If you are watching this...If I am watching this, then I have found my way to the Tower Of London…"

The Doctor listened absently as he turned towards the machine still firing bright blue blots of electricity towards the whale's brain, intercepted by Viera. He wasn't sure exactly how much of that energy she could store up before it needed an outlet, and he wasn't going to wait for the Queen to shut it down.

"The Earth was burning. Our sun had turned on us, and every other nation had fled to the skies. Our children screamed as the skies grew hotter. And then it came, like a miracle. The last of the star whales," the video continued behind them. It took a minute to follow the power cords back the computers and find the spot where he could use the screwdriver to flip an internal switch and shut the whole thing off. There was a quiet hum of dying energy as the crackling blue energy threatening the whale vanished.

The Doctor returned to Viera's side and hesitated a brief moment before reaching for her; his hands were shaking.

"Viera? It's all right. It's over. The star whale is safe. You can come down now," he coaxed quietly. She jumped a little at his touch, turning to look at him with wide hazel eyes. Her pupils were dilated. "Ah, hold on just a minute." The Doctor hurried away to snatch up the little gold ring still held loosely in the fist of the hybrid. The cloaked man had returned to his human form, and he gave up the bio-dampener without complaint.

"Here you are," the Doctor murmured, sliding the ring onto her finger again. Viera took a deep, shuttering breath and slumped against him. Worried, he scanned her with the screwdriver, but nothing seemed to be wrong aside from stress.

"I'm all right," Viera muttered into his shoulder, clutching at him. He wrapped his arms loosely around her as she slowly regained her bearings.

The video was just finishing as the Doctor returned his attention to the rest of the group. "If not, press the other button. Your reign will end, the Star Whale will be released, and our ship will disintegrate. I hope I keep the strength to make the right decision." The video turned off.

"But that's… that's me," Liz stammered, struggling with the weight of everything she'd just learned. "The woman on the video…" She stared down at the 'forget' button with horror. "Right under my nose," the Queen muttered, glancing up at the Doctor. "My mask…"

"Yeah," the Doctor stated quietly. His earlier rage was gone, replaced by relief and sorrow and perhaps even a little bit of sympathy that these humans would have to live with what they'd done. "It's old. An antique, made by craftsmen over 200 years ago and perfectly sculpted to your face. They slowed your body clock, all right, but you're not 50. Nearer 300. And it's been a long old reign."

"I made myself forget," Liz murmured.

"Over and over again," the Doctor agreed. He watched silently as Liz closed her eyes and slumped back in her chair.

"But I don't understand," Hawthorn spoke up hesitantly. "It didn't leave. Why didn't it leave?"

Amy was watching Mandy and a boy her age pet one of the whale's feelers with a look of realization on her face.

"The star whale didn't come like a miracle all those years ago," the redhead stated, turning back to the rest of them. "It volunteered. You didn't have to trap it or torture it - that was all just you. It came because it couldn't stand to watch your children cry. What if you were really old, and really kind and alone? Your whole race dead, no future. What couldn't you do then? If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind..." Her gaze focused on the Doctor. "You couldn't just stand there and watch children cry."

The room was quiet as they all digested that. Grief and guilt and regret stained all their expressions. Viera just felt tired. All that time, all that pain, and they'd never needed to hurt the whale at all.

"Never again," the Queen swore at last, quiet and fierce. "No more forgetting; no more pain. We will take care of the star whale, and everyone will know that it saved us."

She looked up and met the Doctor's eyes, and he nodded.

"Would you excuse us? I need to make sure do a more thorough scan," he stated, motion towards Viera, who was still leaning against his side.

"Of course," said Liz. "Why don't you use my quarters. You could use a bit of freshening up." She was finally starting to look a little more like herself, a little less overwhelmed and more confident again. She was back in charge, and this time there would be no more secrets. Probably.

The chance for a shower was too good to pass up. They could have gone straight to the TARDIS, but the Doctor wanted to make doubly sure that everything was settled and that there wasn't any permanent damage to the whale before they left. The Doctor tugged Viera back the way they'd come, his arm slung over her shoulders. Amy trotted beside them.

"Is she all right?" Amy asked the Doctor. "How did she do that? How did you do that?" she turned the question to Viera instead.

"I'm fine," Viera stated, smiling at her. She _was_ fine, for the most part. The whole situation still made her sick at heart, but at least it was over and the whale was safe. Everyone was safe.

"She's a conduct of sorts," the Doctor answered Amy's other question. "Her body and mind are riddled with power channels, which lets her control certain types of energy."

"Wow," Amy mused. "Are you an alien too?"

Viera grinned. "No. I was born human. I suppose I don't rightly know what I am now." She shrugged. "It's a long story."

There was silence for a few steps before Amy spoke up again. "You sort of… freaked out when we heard the whale screaming. I mean, it was awful, but..."

The Doctor grimaced, apology written all over his face. "Sorry about that."

Viera shook her head and squeezed his waist in a loose hug. "It's all right. I just- I had a headache," she explained. "And that sound felt like it was drilling through my ears. I was going to ask you to stop, but then my ring slipped off and…" Viera leaned around the Doctor to talk to Amy. "The power channels in my head leave me vulnerable to things like telepathy, and with that much pain so near… I kind of lost it." She took a deep breath, looking away. "I could have killed everyone," Viera mused quietly. "I didn't even think…" She'd just reacted, desperate to make the pain stop. Not a good habit to get into.

"No one got hurt," Amy pointed out. "You saved the whale!"

"Could have done that more rationally," Viera replied. She didn't regret what she'd done, but it scared her to think how badly things might have gone. She should have let the Doctor figure it out instead of risking all those lives.

"I don't know," the Doctor said carefully. "Things worked out for the best in the end. I'm not sure what I would have done, with the choice left up to me." Viera looked up, surprised by the quiet tone. He looked contemplative, troubled.

"You would have figured something out. _We_ would have figured something out," Viera stated firmly. He looked down at her, solemn for a moment that seemed to stretch and grow… then he smiled that slow, honest smile that made her feel like the sun had come out from behind the clouds.

"Yeah," he agreed, slinging his free arm over Amy's shoulders in a sudden return of his cheerfulness. "We'd have managed."

They were back at the Queen's quarters soon enough. They let Viera have the first shower, for which she was eternally grateful. She finished quickly, or as quickly as she could while washing herself from head to toe three times. She scrubbed her clothes nearly as well as she scrubbed herself, then took them into the speed-dryer with her. It was a nifty little cupboard with walls full of vents. She pressed a button and was immediately surrounded by a whirlwind of warm air. When she finally came out, she was clean and dry, and finally felt human again. It did wonders for her optimism.

Viera borrowed the Queen's hairbrush, which might have been a little rude but the dryer had left her hair completely wild, then explained the dryer to Amy before settling herself on the edge of the bed.

"So…" she started awkwardly when it was just her and the Doctor again. "Do you think there's any way we could convince Liz to let us bring Ianto here?" Viera asked as nonchalantly as she could manage, watching the Doctor for his reaction. "Slow his biological clock. I mean, we'd need to talk to Jack first, of course."

The Doctor studied her carefully, tilting his head. "Do you think they're ready for that kind of commitment?" He sounded amused by the idea but thoughtful too.

Viera shrugged. She wanted to say yes, considering the grief he'd felt at Ianto's death, but she didn't really know Jack all that well. "I think they should have the option if we can give it to them. They wouldn't have to decide now, but we could offer. Even if it wasn't Ianto, Jack ought to have _somebody_ he doesn't lose to age so quickly. Besides, can you imagine Jack's reaction?" They shared a grin before the Doctor returned his attention to poking about the room. Viera tried to draw up the courage to ask her next question in the quiet the followed, but the Doctor beat her to it.

"Were you asking _just_ for Jack?" He asked it very casually, but his movements were a little too careful as he adjusted a few trinkets on the dresser, and he didn't so much as glance at her as he asked.

Viera stared at him a long moment, trying to calm the deafening sound of her panicked heartbeat enough to hear herself think.

"No," she stated finally. The Doctor looked up and Viera looked away. "Shouldn't you- Shouldn't you know the answer to that?" she asked, pulling the brush through her hair a little too sharply. She winced as it caught on a tangle. With a quiet huff she put the brush down and looked at him. "I mean… I told you I loved you. I meant that." Sure she'd been drunk the first time and thought she was dying the second, but that didn't mean it wasn't true. "And you- you saw… _everything_. Didn't you? When I used the Obetovat?"

"Suppose I did," the Doctor admitted. "But people change their minds."

"Not me. Not about this," she argued.

"Living that long's not all it's cracked up to be, Viera," the Doctor cautioned. "You'd outlive everyone you care for. Makes relationships a bit tricky, you know. And seeing so much, living so long… You might end up with an awful lot of baggage to carry."

_Like you did?_ She didn't know quite how to deal with that subject, so she tried for lightheartedness. "Oh come on, I live in a time machine. The only person who would ever even notice I wasn't aging right is you. Unless you're planning on kicking me out?"

"Of course not. But sooner or later-"

"I'm not going anywhere," Viera insisted.

"_Everyone_ leaves." The dark tone to his words and the _look _in his deep eyes pulled her up short. Bitter rage was buried there, old and restrained and reasoned against, but still there. Her heart ached in response, as it always did. For a long moment they both just stared at each other.

"Not by choice," she tried more quietly.

The Doctor softened a bit at that, but it only made him look worn, dejected. "I think maybe that's worse."

Viera took a deep breath and let it out slowly. What was she supposed to say to that? It was true, everyone left him sooner or later, by choice or by circumstance. And yeah, she realized that was pretty much how life was for everyone, but as long as he'd lived, as many people as he'd lost… it broke her heart.

She'd give _anything_ to be able to say she'd never leave, but that wasn't in her power to promise. She slid off the bed and stepped closer, hazel eyes never leaving his.

"What do you want me to do? Give up on you? Stop trying?" Viera asked. His gaze slid away but he didn't disagree. "Well I can't. I'm not wired that way. We can be just friends if that's what you want, but I'm staying as long as I can manage, even if that means extending my life. Unless you're planning on abandoning me somewhere, there's nothing you can do to stop me. So get used to it."

The Doctor flinched; it was faint and she never would have noticed it if she hadn't been standing so close, but it made her wonder. Maybe that's what he was afraid of: getting used to it. Viera had to admit that in his life the moment things started to seem steady and peaceful it was almost inevitable that things would find a way to fall apart. He attracted chaos like bees to honey.

"A lot of things change over time," the Doctor pointed out. "Maybe you'll spot a place too pretty to leave. Or maybe you'll get tired of all the near-death experiences. Oh hey, maybe you meet a bloke, decide to settle down, procreate."

"Procreate?" she asked with a slight, incredulous laugh.

The Doctor shrugged. "The idea of lots of little Viera running around isn't a bad one. Universe could use more like you."

She shook her head at the image, trying to refocus the conversation. "That's not going to happen. The leaving, I mean." She couldn't even _imagine_ loving someone else the way she did him. Not ever. She knew her own heart now, better than she'd ever thought possible. It wouldn't change.

The subject of children she wasn't touching with a ten-foot pole just then.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting a settled life, a home."

"No, there's not. But I'm settled _here,_ despite all the excitement and utterly insane adventures. The TARDIS _is_ home." Viera took that one step more she needed to peer up into the Doctor's brown eyes. "You know me. Better than anyone. Think about what you saw in me. Do you really think I'm ever going to change my mind about this? That I'm even _capable_ of regretting this?" Viera wasn't confident about much, especially when it came to herself, but _this_ she was sure of. Whatever happened to her, to them, _between_ them, she could never regret staying with him.

The Doctor knew it too; she could see it in his face.

"If you don't want me around that long…" Viera started softly.

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like, whether that's one more year or a hundred lifetimes," the Doctor interrupted, all quiet sincerity though he still looked caught between worry and hope. Viera hadn't noticed the tension growing inside her until it was gone, relief filling in its place.

"Good," Viera stated. "Because if I have anything to say about it, you're going to be stuck with me a very, _very_ long time."

"Can I have that brush-" Amy stopped talking abruptly as she stepped into the room. Viera flushed, realizing they were standing _very_ close together, and turned to snatch up the brush she'd left on the bed. "Sorry… am I interrupting something?" The redhead sounded decidedly more gleeful than apologetic.

"Nope," the Doctor replied, popping the 'p'. "Shower's open? Good! Excuse me." And just like that he disappeared into the bathroom.

_Coward_, Viera huffed half-heartedly. She felt heat spread across her cheeks all over again as Amy sat down next to her. She could _feel_ her gaze.

"Sooo… Things getting a little more… _complicated_ between you two?"

Viera gave up ignoring her and flopped back on the bed, handing over the hair-brush. "Something like that," she admitted with a sigh, watching Amy grin from the corner of her eye. The redhead might be younger, but she did have more experience with certain things than Viera did. "How'd you end up with Rory anyways? If you don't mind me asking."

Amy's grin faded a bit, and she shrugged. "I don't know exactly. I mean, he's always been there, you know? He's always been… Rory." Fondness crept into her voice and smile, and Viera wondered if she even realized that the hesitancy she'd taken for cold feet was gone. "He's my best friend. He's… I don't know, he's just Rory. I used to think he was gay." Amy laughed and shook her head. "Because he never paid attention to any girls. Because he never paid attention to any girl but _me._ And somehow we just- we just started dating and then he asked me to marry him and… I said yes."

"What?! You're engaged?" the Doctor exclaimed, rejoining them. He certainly hadn't taken as long in the shower.

"Yes, I am engaged," Amy huffed, grinning crookedly at his expression.

"Huh. How about that. Who's the lucky bloke?"

"Rory."

"Rory…" the Doctor echoed thinking. "Is that the one with the nose?"

"Rude," Viera scolded with a laugh as Amy made a face at him.

"Ah, well, there are worse things. My last body, for instance, you should have seen my _ears_," the Doctor rambled, bounding to the door. "Come on you two. Allons-y. Things to do; people to save!" he exclaimed, trying to wave them through the door.

"Trouble to find; chaos to make," Viera added, grinning at him as she stepped out into the hallway.

"Wait a minute. What you mean your _last _body?" Amy questioned behind her.

"Oh, never mind that. Come on." Apparently deciding not to sate her curiosity at the moment, the Doctor snatched up both their hands and took off down the corridor once more.

They went back to the Tower. The whole place made Viera's skin crawl, but Amy was a good distraction. The redhead tried to pry answers out of Viera the whole time the Doctor was checking on the whale. Viera teased her with lots of hints and no straight answers, enjoying the game enough that she wondered whether she'd been spending too much time with the Doctor.

When they were all more or less convinced that things would be fine without them, Liz approached, a tired smile on her face. It had been a very trying day.

"The British Empire owes you a debt. If there's every anything we can do for you-" the Queen began. Viera spoke up before she could lose her nerve.

"Actually, there is something. Is there any way…" It felt like such an awkward request, but it was a chance she couldn't bear to let go. The best thing to do was to just come out and say it. "I'd like my biological clock slowed."

The Queen and Amy looked surprised; the Doctor just looked a bit concerned. "Are you sure? That's a very big decision," Her Majesty cautioned.

"I know. I do," Viera agreed. "But I am absolutely certain."

"You don't have to do this now, you know," the Doctor spoke up quietly. "We can come back anytime."

"I'm _not_ going to change my mind," Viera insisted. She turned to hold his gaze, completely certain of her words. "I want this."

"All right," the Queen agreed as the Doctor backed off. "Of course, if that's what you want, we'd be happy to help. I'll tell my scientists to get ready."

"Thank you." They were left alone again for a while. The Doctor paced; Viera thought he was more nervous than she was. And she _was_ nervous; she just… knew it would be worth it.

"And I thought marriage was a big step," Amy murmured, too quietly for the Doctor to hear.

Viera shrugged and then shook her head. "People do crazy things…"

"When they're in love?" Amy finished. A wondering, crooked little smile lit up her face. "You really are, aren't you?"

Viera watched the Doctor bother one of the scientists, demanding _every _detail of the _exact_ process they intended to use. She rested a hand absently on her chest, feeling the echo of his hearts near hers, the rush of warmth and the sense of _home_ that came from that presence. Helplessly, she smiled.

"Yes. I suppose I am."


	20. Interlude: The Offer

_Supplemental Soundtrack:_

**The Unusual Beneath the Ordinary – "Che" by Break of Reality**

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><p>INTERLUDE: THE MOMENTS BETWEEN<p>

The Offer

Torchwood had moved rather than try to rebuild after their last base had been blown up. The Doctor led Viera and Amy through the streets of Cardiff, following the slight fluctuations of his sonic screwdriver as he scanned for the nearest concentration of alien tech.

"Couldn't we have just called and asked for directions?" Amy asked Viera as the Doctor stopped, spun around and sprinted down another side street. They followed behind just fast enough to keep from losing sight of him.

Viera grinned at her. "We could have, yeah."

"Found it!" the Doctor shouted. He turned back and half-frowned at them for lagging behind, though there was still glee in his eyes. He was enjoying their impromptu little 'treasure hunt'. "Come on; hurry up!" He spun back around, reaching to test the doorknob of the nearest nondescript door. It swung inward the moment his hand closed around the handle and the Doctor stumbled forward. He barely managed to straighten in time to keep from running into the man inside, but he grinned like that had been the plan all along.

"Well, hello! Fancy meeting you here!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Ianto looked understandably startled to find himself face to face with the Time Lord, but he took it all in stride. He took a step back to regain his personal space, surprise fading into mild amusement as he took in the small group.

"Hello," he echoed, stepping out of the way to motion them in. He raised an eyebrow at Viera as the Doctor bounded inside. "Is the world ending? Should I be sounding an alarm?" Ianto asked mildly.

"Oi! We're not always the bearers of bad news!" the Doctor protested. He reconsidered that and muttered to himself. "Just because I like skipping boring old ordinary days-"

Viera shook her head, talking over the quieter ranting of the Time Lord inside. "Just here for a visit. As far as I know, at least." She smiled at Ianto's quiet chuckle. "It's good to see you again. Ah, this is Amy Pond."

The redhead waved and grinned. "'Ello."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ianto greeted politely. There was a distant yelp from inside, and he winced slightly before closing the door behind them. "I think he surprised Gwen."

Amy couldn't help but snicker; that had been a very familiar yelp. "You'd think he'd learn not to sneak up on people."

"But where's the fun in that?"

The two of them followed Ianto through a little pawn shop, an even smaller back room, and down a long, winding staircase. They could hear the others quite clearly as they reached the large open room below.

"Welcome to Torchwood," Ianto murmured as they left the stairs. Viera grinned back at him and went to join the Doctor who was standing off to the left with Gwen, rubbing his cheek and pouting. Amy was already dragging Ianto off in another direction, asking questions about the different bits of alien tech on display or being monitored by the myriad of computers.

"-well you shouldn't have startled me like that!" Gwen complained, looking decidedly flustered.

"Violence is never the answer," the Doctor huffed.

"Hello, Gwen," Viera greeted cheerfully, deciding it was best to simply reroute the conversation. She grinned at the relief that flickered across the other woman's expression. "Is Jack around?"

"Viera! Hi. Not at the moment, but he should be back soon. What are you all doing here anyways? Not that it isn't nice to see you."

"Oh, we just dropped by for a chat," the Doctor chirped with an innocent grin. Gwen looked a little doubtful but the sound of footsteps on the stairs pulled all their attention to the entrance.

"You'll never guess what I saw just sitting on the sidewalk across from the pub-" Jack was saying as he jogged down the steps. He stopped when he spotted them, then grinned. "You beat me here. Doc!" he greeted, catching the Doctor in a fast hug. He turned to greet Viera with the same bear hug. "Viera!" Jack's grin shifted just a little into a more deliberate charm as he turned to the only stranger in the room, Amy. "And you! Hello, you."

"Hello," the redhead purred back, eyeing him much the same way.

"Don't," the Doctor warned, narrowing his eyes at Jack, then Amy.

"What? We were just saying hello," Amy objected, eyes full of mischief.

"Well stop it. We need to talk to Jack. You just- behave yourself." The Doctor pointed a finger at Amy; she gave him an innocent look that he didn't believe for a minute. The Time Lord gave up and shooed Jack towards the offices in the back, ignoring the speculative glances of the other Torchwood agents behind him. Viera smiled at them in hopes that they wouldn't be too worried, then jogged to catch up to the Doctor.

"Everything all right?" Jack asked when they were safely behind the closed doors of his office.

"Oh, fine," the Doctor assured, bouncing on his toes and grinning.

"It's good news, actually," Viera stated. "At least I think you'll think it's good news. I don't know why you wouldn't." It probably wasn't a good sign that she was already rambling; she really didn't know why she was so nervous. She took a deep breath. "We have an offer to make. Kind of an unconventional Christmas present you could say. There's no time limit on it; you can let us know whenever you're ready. If you're ever ready. I mean you don't have to accept it if you don't want-" The Doctor's gentle nudge got her back on track. "We met a Queen in the future whose doctors slowed her biological clock. She's hundreds of years old and hasn't aged a day. As a favor to us, she's agreed to have her doctors do the same to one person of our choice, or rather one person of _your_ choice, hence the present."

Jack just stared at her, looking completely, utterly stunned.

"It's not immortality, of course," Viera cautioned. "They'll still be able to die, to be killed. They'll even age, but it will be over centuries rather than decades. You don't have to choose now, of course," though she found herself hoping that Ianto might end up sticking around a while longer, "but if you ever find someone you want to spend more than one lifetime with, and they agree, all you have to do is give us a call." She rocked back on her heels, waiting for Jack to respond. He looked like he was about to, opening his mouth a couple times, but nothing came out. "Say something," Viera prodded.

"Are you serious?" Jack finally breathed.

"Of course we are," the Doctor answered, practically radiating gleeful smugness. "Blimey, that'd be an awful trick."

Jack's expression shifted slowly into distant thoughtfulness, turning over the possibilities. "Is the process safe?"

Viera shrugged and stretched her arms to the sides. "No side-affects yet."

Jack looked surprised again but only for a moment. "You did it."

"Course I did. Don't I look fantastic? For all you know it's been hundreds of years since I saw you last," Viera teased.

Finally a smile started creeping across Jack's face with the realization of how much they were really offering. Elation replaced his stunned surprise like sunlight taking over the sky. "Has it been?"

"Naw. Couple months maybe," Viera admitted, grinning as Jack's joy spread.

"This is incredible!" Jack grabbed Viera's shoulders and pulled her into a fierce hug. Then he did the same to the Doctor and pulled Viera in so he could wrap his arms around both of them at once. "I don't even know what to say. I don't know how I'm going to thank you for this."

"You can start by not squeezing us to death," the Doctor chuckled. He gave Jack a cheeky grin when he released him. "'Sides. What else are time-traveling friends for?"

Jack grinned back, then his gaze slid to the windows where he could see his agents talking to Amy. Uncertainty flickered across his happy expression, an odd mix of uneasiness and longing.

The Doctor clapped a hand on his shoulder, understanding. "Take your time deciding. But not too much time," he cautioned gently. It was a _big_ commitment and not something to be rushed into, but while Jack was deciding the people around him would go on aging.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, taking a deep breath. He turned back to them with a smile that was calmer but no less sincere. "But really, thank you. I'd say you don't know what this means to me, but I suppose you do." He shared a long look with the Doctor, then shed his seriousness with a roll of his shoulders. "Now, how about you let us take you out for a night on the town. We don't have anything pressing at the moment, no invasions on the way. Right?"

"Oh, well-" the Doctor hedged, not entirely sure he wanted to agree to be social.

"Not that we know of," Viera answered easily. She shrugged and tried not to look too pleased with herself when he shot her a small frown.

"In that case, I insist," Jack stated with roguish glee, throwing an arm over their shoulders. He waggled his eyebrows at the Doctor. "Come on, it'll be fun. Take the night off. I can promise you a good time."

"Oh, all right," the Doctor relented, pushing Jack's arm off so he could get out the door. "But no flirting with our companion."

"Only if she doesn't flirt with me."

Viera laughed as the Doctor slumped with a long-suffering sigh and muttered something under his breath.


	21. Interlude: Family

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Any of you following this story for a while will have already read this chapter. It's not a new one; it just got moved. Sorry for any confusion.

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><p><em>Supplemental Soundtrack:<em>

**Homesickness: "Boxed-Up Memories" by Kerry Muzzey**

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><p>INTERLUDE: DREAMS OF GALLIFREY<p>

Family

Soft, cool grass beneath her, the sound of water trickling over stones in the nearby creek, the faint smell of sun-warmed flowers in the air; it was perfect day for a picnic.

Familiar faces surrounded her, faces she'd known all her life or at least all of theirs: family. There were faces creases in smiles and laughter, some in disapproval and exasperation, but all dearly loved.

There was a bright-eyed woman holding her hand, chattering happily, and a name floated into her mind. _Susan._ _Granddaughter._ A man she knew was Susan's husband stood by a tree, talking with their son.

There were others, familiar though oddly she couldn't remember all their names. One spoke in riddles, challenging the rest of them to be quick and clever and she loved it. Others shared stories she couldn't wait to hear. They were safe, content. She knew it not just from the smiles on their faces but from the soft murmuring presence of their thoughts that brushed across the bond in the back of her mind.

She could have stayed there forever, or at least until an adventure came along. An adventure they would all share, laughing at the danger with her, there to lend an ear and help solve the puzzles, or at least there when she returned to remind her why it was all worthwhile. She was happy, loved, _whole._

Then the world burst into flames and swept it all away.

There was fire and pain and screams for one long horrible moment, then nothing, just nothing. The soft, constant hum of Gallifreyan minds whispering against her own was gone. There was only silence: deep, empty, maddening silence, and she was alone in the black.

Viera woke up crying again, tears still pooling in her hazel eyes. She knew it wasn't coincidence this time; she knew it was the Doctor's dream, the Doctor's sorrow she'd felt before waking. She didn't stop to worry about how he'd react to the news that she'd seen his dreams or that she'd been keeping it from him. All she could think about was the fact that he'd woken from a dream like _that_ to an empty room and a silent mindscape. She slipped out of her room and ran down the hall, ignoring the cold of the corridor floor against her bare feet.

The Doctor opened the door almost immediately when she knocked, a questioning look on his tired face. There was no room in her frantic thoughts for speech or hesitation, so she simply reacted. Viera threw herself forward and hugged him as tightly as she could.

"What? Viera, what's going on?" the Doctor asked worriedly. She shook her head against his chest and refused to move when he pushed lightly at her shoulders, trying to look at her face. She'd explain in a minute, when the memory of his deep, endless loneliness had eased and she didn't feel quite so desperate. "Are you hurt?" Viera shook her head again, and the Doctor gave up for the moment. He finally just wrapped his arms around the warm body clinging to him and hugged back.

Viera could hear both his hearts begin to slow to a more normal pace. They'd been pounding when she'd first hugged him, though whether that was from the dream or simply because she'd surprised him, she couldn't say. When it became clear that she had no intention of going anywhere, his arms tightened around her and Viera felt him rest his cheek on top of her head. She let herself hope that maybe he found a fraction of the comfort she did in the solid warmth of another person. There was something about being hugged, being held that eased the loneliness inside in a way that no depth of talking, sharing, remembering could ever reach.

Moments passed. Her tears stopped as she calmed, but Viera didn't loosen her grip on the Doctor until they'd been standing there long enough for the sorrow and worry to shift past relief and comfort to the beginnings of awkwardness.

The Doctor let Viera go when her grip loosened, and she stepped back, scrubbing at drying tear tracks. Nervousness about what she hadn't told him returned with a vengeance; she couldn't quite look him in the eyes.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor was frowning in concern, studying her face.

She had to tell him. The longer she hid it, the worse the secret would get. Viera took a deep breath and tried to make her hands stop shaking.

_Say it. Just spit it out. Stop thinking and just say it._

"You had a bad dream."

The Doctor's expression shifted slightly at her wording. "You mean _you_ had a bad dream?" he asked carefully. Viera worried her lower lip between her teeth and shook her head. Realization and surprise flashed across his face. The Doctor straightened, leaning very slightly away from her as his eyes took on a distant look.

"I'm sorry," Viera blurted miserably. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I think it's something I did with the Obetovat… or maybe because you've been in my mind before," she added as the possibility occurred to her. Once she'd started talking she couldn't stop until the whole story had come out. "The first time, when I dreamed about Gallifrey I really did think it was because of the Master. But then we both dreamed about the war and I _knew_. I should have told you. I'm sorry. I was worried that you'd… that you'd be unhappy and I was kind of hoping it'd just go away on its own. I'm really, really sorry."

The Doctor stopped her worried rambling with a light grip on her shoulders. "It's not your fault," he stated firmly. He fought the urge to grimace but didn't entirely succeed. "And I suppose turnabout's fair play anyways." He took a deep breath, still processing the information. It seemed to help him to focus on the technical aspects of the phenomenon rather than how personal it really was. He tried to remember the last time he'd slept long enough to dream; Viera might need to sleep every night, but he certainly didn't. "You mentioned the dream weeks ago and the one tonight. What about the dream I had four nights ago? Did you see that one?"

Viera frowned slightly and tried to remember. Nothing had woken her four nights ago. She had vague memories of a recurring dream though, but she was positive that one was from her own subconscious.

"Not unless you were dreaming about technicolor kittens," Viera replied with a nervous smile. _Or your dream just didn't stick until morning_.

"So it's not every dream, just some of them," the Doctor mused. He scrubbed a hand through his already-messy hair. "The connection is still tentative. Now that I know about it, I might be able to set up some kind of barrier…"

Viera fidgeted guiltily, stanchly ignoring the pang of regret that idea sent through her. She wouldn't miss the pain and fear, but she'd learned more about the Doctor's past from his dreams than she'd ever heard from his mouth. _Dreams I have no right to see._ "I should have told you sooner."

He just shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable with the new knowledge. "You've told me now." He glanced back at his bedroom and made a face. "Since we're both awake, what do you say to checking out that anomaly in 17th century France?"

Viera didn't really feel like going back to sleep either, but even if she'd been dead on her feet, she wouldn't have left him alone just then. "That sounds perfect," she agreed with a smile that only shook a little. "I should… go make tea. _You_ can wake up Amy."

The Doctor grimaced and glanced nervously down the hallway that led to the other companion's room. "Maybe we should do a bit of scouting first. Wake her once we've got a better idea of what's going on."

Viera shook her head, wandering towards the kitchen with the Doctor on her heels. "Scared, Doctor?"

"Well, you know what they say about red-heads and tempers…"

"Uh-huh. And why is it that you want so badly to be ginger?"


	22. 14:1 Wallflower

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**Dance With Me: "Children" by Robert Miles**

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><p>PART FOURTEEN – MISCHIEF &amp; DANCING<p>

Chapter One – Wallflower

There had never been any way around it. Falling for the Doctor had been as inevitable as the sunrise; avoidable only by some apocalyptic event. Getting him to love her back, or even admit to an attraction, now that was another story altogether.

Viera sighed and sipped her drink, watching the Doctor gesture wildly as he chatted with a blue-skinned woman on the other side of the room. For all her declarations that friendship was enough, part of her had hoped that after the Starship UK he might see her in a different light. That hadn't been _why_ she'd chosen to extend her life, but she couldn't help hoping nonetheless. So much for that. If anything she'd spent less time with the Doctor; he'd been so busy impressing their new companion with the wonders of the universe. Now Amy was having a great time out on the dance floor with the myriad of humans and aliens, and he was all the way across the room making a lovely new _female_ friend while Viera played wallflower at the bar.

She was being ridiculous. She _knew_ she was being ridiculous and unfair and moody, she even knew _why_, but Viera didn't care. She didn't want to be rational; she wanted… Oh, she didn't even know what she wanted.

It didn't help that the bass thumping through the club and the flashing lights were giving her a headache. Viera was considering retreating to the TARDIS tucked away in the back room closet before her sour mood spoiled the evening for the others when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Viera turned and was met with a handsome face and an odd fluttering in her chest.

"Care to dance?" the man asked over the volume of the music. He had the sort of confidence that implied he already knew her answer. Mischievous blue eyes crinkled at the corners with the strength of his disarming grin.

She was so flustered by the sudden attention and his close proximity that it took her a few moments to realize that she knew him. That fluttering in her chest, that was the echo of another heartbeat, one she hadn't been close to in a very long time.

"Stephen?" Viera gasped. His grin widened and Viera found herself caught in a warm embrace. "Oh my gosh; look at you!" she couldn't help but blurt when they finally separated. "You're all grown up." It was like Amelia all over again; one minute he was a child and the next he was her age. He laughed good-naturedly.

"Have been for a while now actually, but that's what you get for skipping about the time stream the way you do. What are you doing here? The world's not ending, is it?" It was an honest question, but Viera wondered how many potentially-world-ending situations he'd faced to sound so unworried at the idea.

"No. Well, not as far as I know," she replied with a fleeting grin. She waved towards the dance floor. "New companion; just seeing the sights. She wanted to see the future and she wanted drinks."

"And the Doctor's too preoccupied making new friends to take you dancing?" Stephen tsked in mock disappointment.

Viera's face flushed, wondering if it was really that obvious she was pining a bit. "I'm not really much of a dancer."

"Maybe you just need the right partner. Come on," Stephen urged, hopping off his barstool to offer his hand. "Wouldn't hurt him to be reminded he's not the only fish in the sea."

Viera eyed the churning crowd dubiously. "I really don't think-"

"Swing-dancing, that's all," he assured. "I can teach you."

She hesitated just a moment longer before taking his hand. "It's your own fault if your toes get stepped on," she warned. Stephen just grinned at her.

He led her to the very edge of the dance floor, as far from the speakers as they could get without actually leaving the room. He taught her the basics of swing-dancing and soon she was spinning back and forth in his arms, having a wonderful time. She wasn't terribly good at dancing and Stephen did get stepped on more than once, but he never made her feel awkward or incompetent and soon she was having too much fun to care. Her earlier moodiness vanished in the light of laughter and good company and Viera actually forgot about the Doctor completely for a while.

It came as quite as surprise when, a few songs later her hand was snatched up by someone other than Stephen and she found herself caught against a familiar chest. The rush of warmth that flooded through her was inescapable, though Viera tried to keep it from coloring her cheeks.

She wondered if it was just in her imagination that his amiable smile didn't quite reach his eyes the way it usually did.

"Mind if I cut in?" the Doctor asked.

Stephen raised his eyebrows at Viera which made her bite her lip around an amused grin. The Doctor's hold on her shifted minutely, somehow becoming just a little possessive. She couldn't say she minded. An odd little thrill bubbled beneath her skin. Was he actually jealous? At least a little?

Stephen simply smirked in response. "Not at all," he agreed at last. "I'll see you around," he promised Viera with a wink then sauntered away to find another dance partner. She didn't think he'd have any trouble with that; Stephen had taken after his grandfather in looks, with a warm voice and bright eyes that she imagined made more than a few girls swoon.

"Well he was friendly, wasn't he?" the Doctor muttered, splinters of irritation threading through his tone. Then just like a switch had been thrown, he was all smiles again as he spun Viera around to face him.

"I didn't know you danced," Viera mused, studying the Doctor.

"I," the Doctor murmured, tugging her close enough that he could say it in her ear, "am an _excellent _dancer."

He proved his words true, whirling her about the room until she was giddily dizzy. It was a good thing he was leading, as Viera couldn't focus on much besides the warmth of his hands and way it felt every time she fell back into his embrace before another turn. She was laughing with the joy of it by the time the song ended. Stephen caught her eye across the room and winked again, knowingly. Viera shook her head and grinned.

"He's certainly is _fond_ of you," the Doctor muttered, narrowing his eyes at Stephen distrustfully.

"You really don't know who he is, do you?" Viera giggled.

"What? Who?" Startled, the Doctor's attention shifted from near-hostility to curiosity. "Should I?"

She thought about making him guess, but she was too eager to see the look on his face. "That's Stephen. Jack's grandson."

"Oh. _Oh_..." The Doctor looked relieved for just a moment before he frowned again. "Well, I hope he doesn't take after his grandfather _too_ much."

"He is awfully charming," Viera observed.

The Doctor huffed. "If he's like Jack then he'll flirt with anything that moves," he warned.

That sounded vaguely like an insult, though she was sure he hadn't meant it that way. "Are you saying that's the only reason someone would flirt with me? Because he'd flirt with anyone?"

"What?" Alarm skittered across his expression. "Nooooo, that's not what I meant. I'm just saying-"

"And I don't think that's very fair to Stephen. Just because he's charming, that doesn't mean he's a playboy."

"I suppose not."

"Can't someone ask me to dance without having ulterior motives?"

"I didn't- I just meant- You shouldn't-" He paused a moment with his mouth still open to talk then narrowed his eyes at her. "You're teasing me."

Viera smirked and shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe. Though you really shouldn't assume things about Stephen; he was very sweet. And he wasn't flirting with me; we were just having fun."

"Yes, I could see that," the Doctor muttered.

"It seemed like you were having fun too," Viera observed casually, glancing over at the alien he'd been talking too so animatedly earlier.

He perked up immediately, leaning to one side to get a better look at her face. "Were you _jealous_, Viera?"

Her lips thinned, but she raised an eyebrow. "Were you?"

The Doctor jerked back at that, eyes widening. "What?! No! Of course not! Why should I care?" he protested immediately and rather more vehemently than Viera liked. She knew she shouldn't have asked, she'd promised herself she wouldn't push, but the rejection still stung. Her mood swung low again, prickling with irritation, and she decided it was time to go home and curl up with a sappy movie and hot chocolate.

"Yeah, all right." She took a step away but didn't get any farther. His arm snaked around her waist and held her back. Her back was towards him so he couldn't see her expression, but she was stiff in his arms and he knew he'd probably hurt her denying it the way he had. He should have shrugged it off with humor, but he'd panicked at being caught.

He sighed and leaned his forehead against her hair. "Maybe a little jealous," the Doctor admitted quietly. He felt the tension drain out of her. He still didn't know what to do with her declarations of affection, but he knew that it felt like he was tearing into his own heart when he hurt her. "I'd rather you danced with me," he offered. He worried a little when she pulled away, but Viera was only turning around so she could see him. The Doctor smiled hopefully, then more cheerfully when she shook her head and put her arms around him. It was a slower song, more or less, which was just as well at the moment. He wrapped his arms around her in a loose embrace and swayed to the music, trying not to think about how badly it would hurt to lose her.

Because everyone left, sooner or later.

* * *

><p>The Master was bored. The foolish Doctor and his irritating little pets kept leaving him in the TARDIS to waste away while they went off to have 'fun'.<p>

The grey cat growled to himself and flexed his claws, digging them into the cushion of the bench beneath him. There was a warning beep from the TARDIS console, and he remembered that he still needed the uppity machine to agree to take him back to the Adaptation Facility. Turning up his nose, the cat gracefully leapt off the bench and turned his back to the console and rotor, cleaning the sharp claws on one paw.

At least his temporary form was functional. Aside from the annoyance of being so blasted small and the lack of thumbs, the feline form was almost acceptable; graceful, flexible, athletic and _armed_.

In any case, once he had his true form back, took over the ship and got rid of those infuriating human pests in the most creative ways he could come up with, _especially_ the red-headed one that had taken to carrying around a spray bottle full of water, he was going to reconfigure the TARDIS to be completely and utterly obedient. Imagine needing the ship to _agree_ to take him where he wanted to go. The Doctor was a soft-hearted moron; he should have buried the sentience of the flying piece of junk centuries ago.

_Bored,_ the Master huffed and glared at the entrance. When his unsolicited companions failed to appear, he finally trotted over to the doors and stood up to place his front paws on the wood. When he extended his claws threatening to dig them into the blue paint, the lock unlatched on its own. With a feline smirk back at the console, he pried open the door and slid out into a new world.

Getting out of the closet had taken a bit of acrobatic maneuvering, but eventually the Master found himself in the heart of the club. It was loud and chaotic, just the way he liked it aside from the stench of humans and aliens; lower life forms.

Looking completely superior in a way only cats and Time Lords could perfect, the Master stalked around the edge of the room and leapt up onto the corner of the bar. It was a decent vantage point. He could see the Doctor dancing with the used-to-be-human conduct some ways away. The red-head was down at the end of the bar, conversing enthusiastically with a stranger. The Master turned his cold blue eyes to the bottles behind the counter and his tail twitched with malicious glee as his gaze caught on something promising.

It was time he got to have a little fun.


	23. 14:2 Orange and Fizzy

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**Dance With Me: "Children" by Robert Miles**

* * *

><p>PART FOURTEEN – MISCHIEF &amp; DANCING<p>

Chapter Two – Orange and Fizzy

Dancing with the Doctor wasn't quite as carefree as dancing with Stephen had been, since she was hyper-aware of every little touch and anything her imagination could construe as the least bit flirting, but Viera was certainly enjoying it. The Doctor could be astoundingly charming when he decided to be. Despite never being certain how serious he was when he flirted and teased, she'd decided that for the night at least, she was done second-guessing everything. Her cheeks were beginning to hurt from grinning.

In-between songs Viera spotted Amy at the bar, talking excitedly to Stephen. There was a flirty little grin on her face before she laughed and rested a hand a hand briefly on his arm. Viera wondered if Amy had mentioned that she was engaged, tried to tell herself that it wasn't any of her business, and failed spectacularly.

"How about a drink?" she suggested, taking the Doctor's hand to tug him in the direction of the bar.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed amiably. Then he spotted their friends and raised his eyebrows. With a thoughtful hum he nudged a pathway through the crowd and popped out next to Amy, slinging an arm over her shoulders. Despite his intently searching eyes, his voice was cheerful and blithe. "What's all this? Finally got tired of dancing?" He tilted his head at Stephen. "Run out of partners?"

Amy slapped his chest, which was enough to make him back off a bit. "Don't be rude," she scolded. "We were just talking. Did you know that there's an organization now called Torchwood charged solely with dealing in alien relations? Stephen here works for them. _He's_ the head of his unit." She sounded quite impressed and still a bit flirty. Stephen grinned in return.

"Oh, yes, very impressive. It's not like you've got an extra advantage or anything," the Doctor muttered before turning away to wave over the bartender.

"Doctor-" Amy warned as he ignored them all to order his drink.

"No, he's right," Stephen agreed, amused rather than offended. His smile widened as he looked to Viera. "I did start out knowing rather more than usual about the universe."

Amy looked back and forth between them. "Wait. Do you know each other?"

"We've met. Sort of," Viera answered, shrugging. He'd either been dead or unconscious the two times she'd seen him face to face, but he'd seen the whole of her life through her memories and she'd been listening to his heartbeat every time they were near Earth ever since. "It's kind of a long story."

"Thank you!" the Doctor told the bartender as he set a fizzy orange drink and a glass of something purple down on the counter. The latter was passed to Viera. "His grandfather travelled with me for a while. How is Jack anyways?"

"Alive and kicking," Steven replied with a smirk.

"How many people have you taken off to see the stars? Did you ever leave any of _them_ sittin' in their gardens?" Amy asked, reaching over and stealing the Doctor's drink as she spoke. She knocked it back before he could protest, then grinned triumphantly. He sighed and waved over the bartender again.

"That was not my fault. Entirely. There were extenuating circumstances," the Doctor protested.

"Wait. He left you in your garden?" Stephen asked. This prompted a retelling of how they met Amelia Pond and the mess with Prisoner Zero. Viera pulled up a stool and let the Doctor and Amy tell the tale, speaking up whenever they got sidetracked and started arguing over some detail instead of explaining.

Oddly enough, the longer they talked, the more Amy flirted and the less she seemed to care about having an audience. The Doctor was giving her rather concerned looks as she ran fingers across Stephen's knee.

"All right. What are you doing?" he demanded quietly, snatching her hand away by the wrist. "Are you or are you not engaged?"

"Geez, I'm just havin' a bit of fun. What's it to you?" Amy protested. She pulled away briefly, then grabbed hold of the edge of his jacket and leaned far too close. "You're not my dad," she pointed out with a heated look rather than rebellion.

Stephen raised his eyebrows, and Viera's jaw dropped a little. Panic briefly crossed the Doctor's face, then he took her by the shoulders and held her an arm's length away to look her in the eye. "What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing. Yet," Amy purred, trying to lean forward again. The Doctor let her go and pulled Viera into her path in the same motion, needing his hands free to draw out his sonic screwdriver and fiddle with the settings.

Viera heard him muttering about the way her eyes were dilated, but she wasn't paying too much attention. She rather had her hands full actually, as Amy seemed to have decided that she was an acceptable replacement for kissing. The redhead got a kiss on Viera's neck as she tried to step back out of range. Then Amy wobbled and Stephen caught her arm.

"Whoops. Why you sit down?" he suggested, helping her back onto the stool. Viera took Amy's other arm, as much to keep her from crawling into Stephen's lap as to steady her. They exchanged concerned glances as the Doctor finally scanned the redhead with the screwdriver.

The Doctor did not look pleased with the reading. His teeth were gritted as he spoke. "Drugged. Someone put something in her drink."

"Your drink," Stephen stated. When they looked at him he nodded at the empty glass on the counter. "She stole _your_ drink."

The Doctor looked stunned for a moment, like someone had hit him over the head, then he cursed quietly and spun around. He hopped over the counter, grabbed the bartender by the collar and pushed him against the nearest wall all in one motion.

"What did you put in my drink?" he demanded, his voice quiet and carefully enunciated as it often got when he was struggling with his temper. Companions ending up in harm's way because people were trying to get to him never sat well with the Doctor.

The crowd was beginning to pay attention and mutter about security, but Viera and Stephen had their hands full trying to keep a squirming, protesting Amy on her barstool. The Doctor was on his own.

"W-what?" the hapless bartender stuttered, wide-eyed. "I didn't- I just gave you what you ordered, mate."

"If you're lying to me-" the Doctor ground out dangerously. Then he paused and studied the man's expression. His grip loosened. "You really didn't, did you?" He spun around and studied the crowd, the room, and finally spotted the tip of a grey tail as it disappeared around a corner.

"Back to the ship!" he ordered, scrambling back over the bar. He caught Amy's hand, trusting the other two to follow, and took off running. When Amy stumbled he turned and swung her up into his arms, but then she started nuzzling his neck in a most unsettling way. The Doctor nearly dropped her in his eagerness for some distance when they reached the TARDIS doors.

"Here. Watch her." He pushed Amy into Viera and Stephen's arms then reached to push open the TARDIS doors… and realized they were still locked. The Master couldn't have gotten inside, especially when the ship disliked him so. "Where are you?" The Doctor searched the room, walked around behind the police box, then spotted the grey cat trying to sneak out the closet door.

"Ah-ha! There you are." The Master froze, then sat as though that had been his plan all along, staring off at nothing in refusal to acknowledge the Doctor. "Oh no you don't." The cat didn't read his intent to pick him up until it was too late; the Master leapt for the open door but the Doctor snatched him out of the air. The cat bit and clawed, but the Doctor refused to let go. "If you don't cut that out I'm going to drop you off at the nearest pound!" the Time Lord snapped. Saxon stopped fighting with a snarl, the claws on one paw still digging into the Doctor's wrist.

He lifted the cat up so he could look it in the eye. "What did you put in my drink?" the Doctor demanded, halfway to furious. Saxon was still bristling irritably, but he meowed a reluctant response that only the Time Lord understood. "You unbelievable idiot!" the Doctor growled. "Do you have any idea what that does to humans?"

Viera had a pretty good idea. Amy was all hands at the moment, trying to pull either of them close enough to kiss. "You can fix this though, right? Or knock her out until morning?" she asked a bit desperately as she caught the redhead's hand trailing up her arm.

The Doctor dropped the cat and grimaced. "I'm afraid it's not that easy."

"Well, as fun as this has been… I think I'm going to go," Stephen decided, pushing Amy gently towards the Doctor.

"You're just leaving?" Viera asked, startled.

"Kinda figured you were leaving actually. If she took what I think she did… you're probably going to go get her fiancé, right?"

The Doctor nodded, still irritated with the whole situation though his grip on Amy was gentle as he held her at arm's length again.

Stephen gave a bemused little grin. "I have people waiting; no time for a trip on the TARDIS. Not that you've asked. But I'll see you around, I'm sure. It's been… interesting." He edged around Amy to tug Viera into a quick hug. "If you ever need a dance partner…" he murmured in her ear. Then he let her go and grinned at them all. "Take care of yourselves."

"You too," Viera echoed, feeling a pang at the goodbye.

"Farewell! Adieu! Adios! Now open the door, would you? My hands are rather full and we need to get a move on," the Doctor urged, spinning Amy around to face the TARDIS before she could wriggle closer. He guided her into the ship and down the hall to her room, something she was quite enthusiastic about until he locked her in there alone. She yelled and pounded on the door, both of which he ignored determinedly.

Saxon growled as he passed him in the hall and the Doctor nearly growled back. "I'll deal with _you_ later." He found Viera in the control room, waving one last goodbye out the door. "Come on. I'm sure this won't be the last we see of him," the Doctor sighed.

Viera shut the door and joined him at the console. "We're going to get Rory?"

The Doctor grimaced. "The drug he put in my drink would have made me inebriated and probably encouraged me to make a fool out of myself. It's a controlled substance, only there at that bar for the Zurrleans who have a unbelievable tolerance to almost everything, but it has a very… intense effect on humans. It won't wear off until she has some sort of… outlet."

She was quiet for several minutes as the Doctor ran around, starting up the ship. "At least she was with us when it happened," Viera tried, the whole situation making her feel sick. Being forced to act like that… If Amy had gone back out onto the dance floor or slipped away with some stranger instead of staying to talk with them… Viera swallowed and tried not to think about it too hard.

"Hold on," the Doctor warned, his voice completely void of his usual joy at flitting about the universe. Viera grabbed hold of the console and they were off again.


	24. 14:3 Rory Williams

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**Dance With Me: "Children" by Robert Miles**

* * *

><p>PART FOURTEEN – MISCHIEF &amp; DANCING<p>

Chapter Three – Rory Williams

It wasn't terribly hard to find Rory. It was the night before his wedding after all and there was one pub in Leadworth. Deciding they had no time for subtlety, or perhaps simply because he enjoyed making an entrance, as soon as they spotted Rory through the pub window the Doctor threw open the doors and waltzed in with a grin on his face. "Hello Leadworth," he greeted cheerily.

Viera followed, giving a wave and a sympathetic smile when she caught the eye of a completely gobsmacked Rory. He was going to have fun explaining who the madman in the suit was when it was all over.

"Rory! Old chum! Good to see you!"

"What- What are you doing here?" Rory stepped closer, trying to herd the Doctor to one side where they could talk without being overheard.

"We wanted to say congratulations! Getting married. Blimey, that's a bit scary, isn't it?"

"Doctor," Viera spoke, trying to get him back on track.

"So nothing's wrong. The world isn't ending or anything?" Rory questioned somewhat dubiously.

The Doctor grimaced. "Well, no, the world isn't ending."

"But something is wrong?"

"It's about Amy. She's fine!" he assured before Rory's panic could reach full bloom. "Well, not _fine_ exactly-"

"She _will be_ fine," Viera cut in as Rory's eyes widened. "But right now she needs you."

That was really all Rory needed to hear. "Where is she?" he demanded, his nervousness fading in the wake of sudden determination.

"Atta boy," the Doctor said approvingly. "She's on the ship. Allons-y!"

They were halfway out the door before Rory remembered the stag party and turned to find his friends, family and coworkers staring at him and muttering to each other. "Right. There's been a sort of… emergency. It's fine! It's all fine, I just- I have to go."

"Come on, Rory! Pick up the pace!" the Doctor called from outside.

"Yeah, I just-" Rory blinked at the men still staring at him, grimaced and retreated out the door. "Bye."

"They're going to think something's wrong with me," he complained to Viera as they ran back to the ship. Rory frowned then, refocusing on more important things. "What happened to her?"

"She was sort of… drugged," Viera answered, wincing at the look on his face.

"What?! How?"

"Well… she wanted to visit a club. In the future. There was sort of a mix up with the drinks…" the Doctor explained.

"She'll be all right, but she's a bit… erm… flirty and not entirely in control of herself," Viera added.

Rory scowled and turned his worried anger on the Doctor. "Why are you even back here? You left two years ago! You took off and you _left_ her standing in the garden. _Again_! Then you, what, just show up on her _wedding night_ and take her away to some bar so someone can drug her?!"

"I didn't know it was her wedding night," the Doctor protested, then he winced. "That's not the point. The point is she's going to be fine." He held his hands up as they reached the TARDIS, trying to calm Rory down. "But she won't understand why you're angry right now, so maybe you should make up tonight and argue in the morning. Do things backwards; mix it up a little."

Rory still looked caught between righteous anger and complete confusion, so Viera nudged the door open and beckoned him inside.

"Come on. I'll take you to her. We can explain better later."

He followed Viera without another complaint, though he couldn't help pausing just inside the doors to take it all in.

"Bigger on the inside," the Doctor stated with a crooked grin. "It's-"

"It's another dimension," Rory observed calmly.

"I- What?" the Doctor paused, completely surprised. "Well, yes. Although I was going to say 'it's amazing, isn't it?'" he muttered. He was pouting a little but looking sidelong at Rory with new interest, like he'd suddenly discovered a puzzle.

Rory shrugged. "After what happened with Prisoner Zero I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel dimensions."

"Impressive," Viera said, grinning at the Doctor's expression. She motioned towards the stairs. "This way."

Amy was still pounding the door, though her yells had gotten more frustrated and edged with tears. Viera opened the door before Rory could protest the fact that they'd locked her in, and Amy leapt out the moment there was an opening. Fortunately she landed on Rory rather than Viera. Rory immediately found himself with an armful of happy, wriggling fiancé and his face flushed red.

For all that Viera believed certain things were meant for marriage, she was incredibly relieved when a stuttering Rory let Amy pull him into her room and shut the door behind them. They were engaged, for one thing, and it was none of her business for another, and mostly she was just very, very glad that they'd had a way to make Amy happy without letting her do something she'd regret the next day.

Viera made her way back to the control room and slumped down on the bench. Saxon was nowhere to be seen, wisely hiding out somewhere else on the ship.

"Everything go all right?" the Doctor asked, making his way around the console flipping switches. He paused to scan something with his screwdriver, then ducked beneath the control board to adjust something underneath.

"Yes. Amy was very happy to see him. How long until the effects wear off?"

"Oh, she should be back to normal in a few hours. She'll probably sleep a while after that though."

The phone rang and they both jumped, a bit unused to the sound. The Doctor bumped his head on the underside of the console again and he muttered something irritable as he pulled back out, rubbing his head.

"I'll just get that, shall I?" Viera asked, rolling her eyes when he made no move to reach for the phone. She put the receiver to her ear and spoke in her best secretarial tones. "Hello, the Doctor's office. How can we save your planet today?"

"Tell the Doctor we need him back on Earth," an unfamiliar voice demanded.

"May I ask who this is?" Viera questioned, shrugging at the Doctor's curious look. She'd rather expected it to be Jack or Martha.

"This is the Prime Minister."

Viera raised her eyebrows. "Sorry. Could you be more specific?"

"This is Winston Churchill."

Viera blinked. "Oh. You know, I think I'll just let you talk to the Doctor." She held out the phone to the Time Lord, an amazed little smile pulling up the corners of her mouth. "Winston Churchill wants to talk to you."

The Doctor grinned cheekily. "Course he does. Who wouldn't?"

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a short little side-story, mostly because I wanted to introduce adult-Stephen (don't worry; we'll see him again) and because I wanted Rory along for the ride (and I couldn't do it the usual way since Amy doesn't have the same crush on the Doctor here). You know, when I started this I thought I might stop after The Beast Below, but I've been daydreaming and apparently I'm going to have to keep writing a while longer because I have plans for certain characters that can't happen until later... Just as well, I suppose; I do so enjoy writing this. Most of the time, anyways.<p>

On another note, I _will_ eventually finish the alternate story with Viera and the 9th Doctor, but I've hit a block there. The end's all written, but there's one or two chapters in the middle that just don't want to cooperate.

**ALSO, I'd like to thank my reviewers and followers and favoriters. I love you guys! You keep me motivated when I'm on writing streaks and you remind me why I love writing this story when I've gotten distracted. I know I'm not a very consistent writer, so thanks for sticking with me and I do so hope you continue to enjoy the story. =)**


	25. Interlude: Horror

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Skipping Victory of the Daleks after all, at least for now. It still happened, and I may mention things from that particular adventure later, but right now I'm more in the mood to move on. Besides, I've had the end of this written for ages; it's time you got to see it.

* * *

><p><em>Supplemental Soundtrack:<em>

**The Nightmare Child: "Delirium" by Position Music**

* * *

><p>INTERLUDE: DREAMS OF GALLIFREY<p>

Horror

They had the Daleks on the run, or they thought they did. They thought they'd won the battle, though the war raged on throughout the galaxy.

They were terribly, terribly wrong.

The very space they travelled through was charged with energy, polluted by the seemingly endless weapon discharges; she could feel it. They could all feel it, but none of them really stopped to consider what it might cause. A handful of Dalek ships stopped fleeing and fired at the nearest TARDIS. The TARDIS fired back and for a moment space was filled with blinding light. There was a great crack that echoed like thunder through her thoughts, not heard but _felt_. Time and space twisted beneath the onslaught and horror spilled out.

There were suddenly new ships in their midst, spiky things that leaked grey smoke and void matter. There were thousands upon thousands of them and they attacked without mercy or cause. Their sharp-edged bodies slammed into Dalek ships and TARDISes alike, ripping through their shields and hulls with no concern for their own safety. They swarmed across the battlefield, destroying everything, everyone they could reach. They made no attempt to contact and negotiate; they didn't hesitate when the Dalek ships or TARDISes managed to blow apart some of their own ships; their numbers were endless.

She watched the display screens, helpless to do anything else as the horde swarmed over her comrades' ships and the nearest planets. She watched those worlds begin to burn.

She never heard the order, but she certainly saw the effects. The Council must have decided that stopping the swarm was more important than anything else. Suddenly those that were left were fleeing, except for one solitary TARDIS that stayed behind to fire at the sun. They slipped into the Time Vortex just as the great star exploded. She barely had time to protest.

A whole planet system, all those civilizations, all those lives, just _gone. _Too tired and stunned for rage, she bowed her head in grief instead and wondered if they could ever be forgiven.

She was back on Gallifrey, standing in the midst of a war room watching death through computer screens as decisions made in the safety of the Council sanctuary ended lives across the stars. Static hissed through the speakers and her skin prickled with foreboding. She stared through the massive wall of windows at the bright orange sky, knowing the ships they were trying to contact were just out of sight beyond the atmosphere. Behind her she heard the communications officer try again.

"Come in, Commanders. Can anyone out there hear me?"

Static again, fizzling like the unease in her veins. When a reply came at last, it didn't cut through the static but filtered through it like it was part of the noise. The voice was low and deep, coiling around the primal part of her brain like thorny vines. It broke through the walls around her mind like they were nothing, ripping through thought and memory to plant decaying seeds of fear within.

_"__**Trkississn havellk reesssnnwt vetn**__."_

Those were words she'd ever heard before, or even a language that sounded the least bit familiar, but she _knew_ like she knew that the sun existed even when she could not see it that those words spoke doom. There were cries of alarm and demands for information from the others in the room, but she could not tear her gaze away from the window.

There was a shadow in the sky. It started as a pinprick of black against the sun, but it grew before she could catch her breath to call to the others. Darkness spread in thick, greasy tentacles, blotting out the sun. The orange sky turned a sickened green as though the atmosphere itself was being infected.

She could _feel_ the malevolence in that writhing mass of dark stretching across the sky.

The dream twisted and she was suddenly in the sky instead of on the ground, watching horrified through the display screen of the TARDIS as tentacles the mottled purple-black of bruises reached out into space and wrapped around the nearest ship. The craft smoked black where it was touched and slowly began dissolving in the monstrosity's grip as it drew the ship closer. The static on their speakers was replaced by the horrified screams of the dying. Someone in her TARDIS scrambled to turn it off, but the sound would not stop.

There were teeth, rotting but jagged and sharp in the midst of those coiling, grasping tentacles, and three huge roving eyes. It kept growing, blotting out the stars and their view of Gallifrey. Ships all around them fired weapons at the leviathan, but it didn't seem to feel a thing; every weapon simply disappeared into its darkness.

So they tried to flee instead, driven from courage by the dread taking root in their minds like a disease. The monster laughed, the horrific sound echoing through every speaker. The laws of time and space began to dissolve, twisted and violated by the beast, that thing born of nightmares. They understood then that there was no escape, but still they could not help but try, driven half-mad by the ferocity of the need to flee raging within them. It turned towards them, stretching to catch another ship in its boundless grasp. Its eyes rolled in their sockets.

And it _saw her._

* * *

><p>Viera woke terrified. It was still there, rooted in the back of her mind, those reaching arms, that horrible, <em>horrible<em> voice. She couldn't move, couldn't make a sound, some deep, primal part of her certain that if she did it would be the end of her. She breathed in quiet gasps, her desperate mind scrambling for enough courage to do something, _anything_ to end the depthless fear.

She finally whimpered, and the small sound frayed the edges of the terror that bound her to silence. "Doctor," Viera gasped. It wasn't enough. She took a deep breath and yelled as loud as she could, hoarse at first like her throat had seized up. "Doctor! _Doctor!" _She was screaming by the time her voice steadied enough to reach real volume. At some point she'd managed to sit up, but Viera couldn't move, not even to reach for the light; there was only the dark and the beast reaching for her from the black. "_**Doctor!**_"

Her door was thrown open and hallway light spilled in for just a moment before her room lights were turned on. She was crying then, gasping around deep, messy sobs; she sounded like a helpless child, but she didn't care. She'd been so scared. So scared. But the Doctor was there and she could breathe and move and speak again. She didn't know whether the relief or horror was stronger, but her body couldn't cope with the enormity of either, so she sat there and cried.

He sat beside her on the bed and put his arms around her, crooning quiet reassurances and apologies. He didn't complain when she crawled into his lap or when she soaked a patch of his shirt with her tears. He didn't protest when she clung to him desperately enough to leave scratches on his skin. She shook and cried and he just let her, offering what comfort he could.

She didn't even notice Amy and Rory come to the door or the Doctor telling them to go back to bed.

"It's all right. It's over. You're safe. You're _safe_. They're locked away where they can never hurt anyone again. I promise you're safe."  
>It took a long time for anything to penetrate her haze of latent terror. Eventually though, Viera calmed enough to really listen to the repeated murmurs of the Doctor.<p>

"I'm sorry. You should never have had to see that. I tried to keep you out, honestly. I never meant- I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Viera protested, finally raising her head to give him a look of astonishment. "It's _your_ nightmare," she sniffled, wiping half-heartedly at her tears. It was his memory, actually, which was a million times worse_._ "I should be comforting _you_." The Doctor attempted a smile at that, but failed miserably.

Viera shifted her weight so they could sit more comfortably, but she refused to give up the comfort of his arms. She sat sideways with her legs draped across his lap and her knees bent so she could press her feet against his legs. He'd covered them with her sheets, but she still felt vulnerable everywhere her skin wasn't touching his. She was pressed tightly against his chest, one arm wrapped around his back and the other clutching his shirt on the far side of his chest. Her head rested against his shoulder rather than over his nearest heart, but she could feel them both echo faintly through her chest, despite the fact that the Obetovat lay on her nightstand, out of reach. His hearts were pounding too, and with a shudder she wondered how many times he'd had that nightmare and whether the horror ever lessened with the repetition.

"Was it really like that?" she murmured tremulously; she already knew, but she needed to face it, to talk about it in the light. "I don't understand how that- how those _things_ could exist. What were they?"

The Doctor took a deep breath, his expression pained. "We went too far, the Time Lords, the Daleks, the other worlds caught in the war. We broke too many rules, bent time until it snapped and turned in on itself. Weapons that never should have been used were shattered and reformed into- into some of what you saw. Other things were unleashed from the crevices of the universe where they'd been banished since time began. Some of them on purpose."

"That's what you were telling the Master about. That's why you had to end the war." _That's why you had to destroy the Time Lords._ She felt the Doctor shiver against her and her heart constricted.

"Yes," he replied hoarsely, his head bowed and his eyes closed. There was no room in her aching heart for embarrassment or hesitation, she didn't even think about it. Viera cupped the far side of his face and pressed her lips to his clenched jaw, at a loss for how else to offer comfort.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'm so sorry."

"I _had_ to," he repeated, his voice strained to breaking.

"I know." And she did. It wasn't just comfort or trust now, she'd _seen_ it. They'd have eaten through the walls of time and space, spreading the hell of the Time War into every universe until nothing was left but the endless horror of her nightmare. "They would have destroyed everything. Everything. It was the only way to save _anyone_. There wasn't anything else you could have done." How badly she wanted him to accept those words. "You didn't have a choice."

He seemed to need the contact as much as she did; anything to ease the vast, hollow ache inside. The Doctor shivered again and turned his face towards her. Then his lips were on hers and just like that the memories of the nightmare and the rest of the world faded to the background, not gone but subdued. A soft sound escaped from her throat, and she pressed closer. Her eyes slid closed, but Viera felt the cool damp of tears brush against the hand that rested against his cheek.


	26. 15:1 Bliss Before the Storm

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**Waking to Contentment: "Stars" by Helen Jane Long**

* * *

><p>PART FIFTEEN<p>

Chapter One – Bliss Before The Storm

Viera woke slowly, consciousness flickering like a candle in the peaceful black landscape of her sleeping mind. There was warmth pressed against her back and a heavy arm wrapped around her waist. A soft puff of breath on her neck sent pleasant goose bumps across her skin as her mind crept back into awareness. Confusion flared briefly before the memories rushed in and cleared it away.

"Morning, husband," Viera purred, stretching with a pleased little groan as she twisted around to face him. She smiled as his brown eyes blinked open; she didn't get to watch him wake all that often. They'd only been married a few months and the Time Lord didn't need sleep nearly as much as she did. Viera watched confusion flicker momentarily in his eyes, then warmth filled his gaze and he leaned in to kiss the tip of her nose.

"Good morning, wifey," the Doctor replied cheerily.

Viera grinned and curled a hand around the back of his neck to pull him close enough for a proper kiss. What a perfect way to start the morning.

Sometime later the Doctor strolled into the control room, Viera on his heels munching on jam-covered toast she'd swiped from the kitchen while he was devouring bananas.

"Work up an appetite?" Amy laughed from her perch on the railings. A sly grin spread across her face when Viera blushed.

The Doctor cleared his throat and busied himself at the controls. "_So_, where to today? Off to Zanzibar to meet the Zanzibarbarians?"

"Zanzibarbarians?" Viera squinted at him, trying to figure out why that sounded so familiar.

"You're making things up again," Rory protested.

"Ah, come on, barbarians could be fun," Amy said with a smirk. "When's the last time we had a decent bit of trouble?"

"Yesterday?" Rory offered even as the Doctor groaned. "What? What's wrong?"

The Doctor didn't get a chance to answer. The TARDIS hit something and jolted hard enough to send them all tumbling. Viera yelped as she landed hard on her tailbone, though she kept enough presence of mind to grab hold of the nearest bench to keep from being thrown about any more. The TARDIS went abruptly still, leaving her passengers to pick themselves up of the hard floor.

"You know the next time this place gets redecorated, we should asked for mats on the floor and pillows, lots of pillows," Viera muttered. She stood with a grimace, rubbing her tailbone.

"All right?" the Doctor asked as he untangled his long limbs and popped to his feet with his quirky sort of grace. His gaze lingered on her a moment before sweeping over to the others.

"Ughhh." Rory only groaned, but he looked alright when he stood to help Amy up.

"You coulda warned us we were landing," the redhead complained with a pointed glare.

"I didn't know!" the Doctor protested, hands up in momentary surrender before he turned an accusatory look on her. "This is your fault."

"What?!"

"You jinxed us! Decent bit of trouble indeed," he huffed. His put upon expression was rather ruined by the excitement in his eyes. Troublesome or dangerous or not, the unexpected landing was something new and unknown and he was just itching to figure out the puzzle. His fingers twitched and the Doctor tried to keep up his disapproval just a moment more before giving in and bounding over to the console with an eager grin. "Ah well. Let's see what exactly made us land."

"And where we perhaps?" Viera added. She her way over to adjust the settings for the outdoor display as her excited husband darted around the console flicking switches and making wild guesses at what might have yanked them out of the time vortex so suddenly. Static skittered across the screen, clearing slowly as she fine-tuned the scanners.

"Zanzibar?" Amy guessed wryly.

"Somewhere dangerous, I'm sure," Rory sighed, though his resignation sounded almost amused.

"There were rumors Sevntropis had an odd sort of pull, more than just gravity, but reaching into the time vortex- the power something like that would take…" mused the Doctor.

"Are there lots of trees on Sevntropis?" When the static was gone Viera was left with a surprisingly sharp image of a forest. Two butterflies chased each other across her view then a little bird landed on a nearby branch. It was an idyllic scene, tranquil and lovely and exactly the sort of place Viera would like to visit, except just at that moment the little bird turned to look at her. Well, at the camera, but it _felt_ like it was looking at her. An unexplainable chill crawled up her spine. "You know, maybe we should-" the little bird started chirping, a bright, pretty sound that seemed to fill the console room, "leave this one…" Exhaustion worse than anything Viera had ever felt swept over her. She felt heavy, too heavy to stand, and with barely more than a soft startled gasp she fell to the ground, fast asleep.

Viera woke in her own bed an arm around her waist.

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: I should probably warn you that it doesn't look like the next few chapters are going to come any more quickly than this one (i.e. <em>extremely <em>slow), but I'm not quitting! I still adore Doctor Who and I still like this story, I've just got a bad case of writer's block/distraction (thanks, in part, to a couple very time-consuming video games ^^;).

Anyone know where the Zanzibarbarians bit is from? =)


	27. 15:2 Rude Awakenings

PART FIFTEEN - THE DREAM LORD

Chapter Two – Rude Awakenings

It took longer than usual for Viera to disentangle herself from the lingering strands to dream. Sleepy contentment gave way to a flicker of confusion as her mind tried to sort reality from subconscious fantasy. She was in bed with the Doctor. The Doctor was _in her bed_. But they weren't married. They weren't even… weren't even…

Fierce disappointment swamped her mind, and Viera swallowed hard. It was silly to get so emotional over a dream. She should be pleased, grateful, maybe even a little embarrassed that he'd stayed with her after that terrible nightmare, not disappointed that she wasn't living in a dream world. Viera rolled her eyes inwardly and shoved the tangle of emotions aside long enough to turn over and get a good look at her companion.

He was awake and watching her. Heat flooded her face, but there was something in his expression that kept her from ducking away and hiding in embarrassment. Funny how the nightmare that had seemed so much bigger than life was now little more than a passing thought. Distant, like it had happened a lifetime ago. That kiss on the other hand…

"Morning," Viera greeted shyly. The Doctor's mouth quirked into a crooked smile, fond but a little strained, and she knew with strange, sudden certainty that he wasn't going to mention the kiss. They were going to keep dancing around whatever potential they had for something more, her loving him silently and him… well, who really knew what was going on in his well-guarded heart. Her emotions wavered, threatening to flood with disappointment, hurt, anger, or just acceptance of the inevitable.

A blaring alarm made them both jump and they latched onto the distraction with near desperation.

"What _is_ that?" Viera asked, snickering despite her fragile mood as the Doctor darted out of bed like his pants were on fire, promptly got tangled in the sheets and went tumbling with a yelp.

"Dunno! Some sort of- ugh," he grunted, kicking away the blanket around his ankles as he half-hopped half-ran to the door, "some sort of anomaly in the vortex. Well, are you coming or what? Lazy-bones."

Viera shook her head in mostly feigned exasperation, but she clambered out of bed somewhat more gracefully. She was willing to pretend, at least for the moment, that nothing had changed. She'd deal with everything else later. When the Doctor took off running down the hall, she followed. They skidded into the console room together to find Amy and Rory dressed and ready for the day. Only then did Viera realize that not only were the Doctor and herself still in their pajamas, they'd arrived at exactly the same time and it looked a bit suspicious. Heat crept over her cheeks at the particularly accusing glare from Saxon. The cat was perched on the highest railing so he could look down his nose at him all; it was a very feline expression, though she could imagine his Time Lord face with the same distain.

"Shut up," the Doctor snapped with just a hint of sheepishness before anyone could comment. Amy smirked at him, which he studiously ignored in order to bound around the console, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Shut it off!" Rory complained, hands over his ears.

"I'm trying! If you can't do anything helpful-"

In the meantime, Amy sidled up to Viera. "You all right?" the redhead asked, carefully pitching her voice so it could be heard above the alarm but not overheard by the others. Viera blinked at her in confusion, then realized that _of course_ Amy had heard her screaming at the top of her lungs the previous night.

"I'm fine," she stated honestly. Whatever lingering fear that the Doctor's presence hadn't banished, the pleasant dream afterwards had dissolved.

The alarm went silent as abruptly as it had begun, leaving Viera's ears echoing with the sudden lack of sound.

"What- Now that's not right," the Doctor protesting, prodding at various controls with a frown. "I could have sworn…" He was still muttering to himself when Rory yelped loudly, garnering their attention. Saxon stood arch-backed and growling on the rail next to him. Wide-eyed and stuttering unintelligibly, Rory pointed behind them.

Viera felt a chill creep across her skin as they turned as one. There was something behind them. Some_one_ behind them, she realized as she took in the stranger. They were in the middle of the time vortex; was that even possible? She understood Rory's startled exclamation; even knowing something was there didn't make the intruder any less startling. Viera took an involuntary step back, stopping there only because Amy held her ground.

From head to toe the stranger was a cliché villain; a tall, dark-haired, dark-clothed man, complete with a long, curling mustache. It might have been amusing in another situation, but he _radiated_ menace in a way that reminded her faintly of the Master at his absolute maddest. There was nothing but cold calculation and a cruel sort of amusement in his ash-grey eyes, and when they swept over Viera her skin crawled. He smiled slowly, like he knew.

"Oh, now _that's_ interesting," the Doctor murmured, calling the stranger's attention to himself as he circled the intruder curiously. Any wariness he felt was carefully hidden, but Viera was itching to drag him away. Her instincts were screaming that the stranger was dangerous. "Who are you? _What_ are you? How did you get into my TARDIS?"

The slightly-taller man clucked his tongue and shook his head in mock disappointment. "Don't you know? And I'd heard such good things. Last of the Time Lords, you don't count, precious," he added when Saxon grumbled. The cat looked ready to launch himself at the interloper's face then, but surprisingly stilled at the Doctor's warning look. "Oncoming Storm. Destroyer of Worlds. The rumors must be exaggerated." His voice was low and somehow threatening despite the present amusement.

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked again. Hands in his stuffed in his pockets, he stopped circling when he was between the stranger and Amy. He made it look unintentional, not even looking at them as he rocked back on his heels.

"Hmm, what shall we call me?" Even his grin was ominous. "Well, if you're the Time Lord, let's call me the Dream Lord."

The Doctor shifted his weight to bounce on the balls of his feet, then he flicked his wrist, sending a little rubber ball flying towards the so-called-Dream Lord without warning. The intruder didn't flinch; it sailed right through him.

_Incorporeal,_Viera's mind registered vaguely, distracted by his condescending smirk. _Hologram?_ _Hallucination?_ _Ghost?_

"I'd love to be impressed," the Dream Lord sighed, "but 'Dream Lord' – it's all in the name, isn't it? Not quite there." He vanished without warning, then his voice came from right behind Viera, whispering against her ear. "And yet, very much here." She sucked in a startled breath and spun around, stumbling in her haste to put some distance between them. Amy kept her from falling over her own feet. Viera hadn't felt his breath on her skin, but as much as she tried to tell herself he wasn't real, she felt like someone had just walked over her grave.

The Doctor was quickly between them and the Dream Lord again and Rory stepped up behind them, both of them bristling with protectiveness in their own way.

"Now that's not very polite," the Doctor scolded, his tone mild though the cheerful curiosity had faded. "21st century humans are funny about their personal space you know."

"Human? Her?" the Dream Lord questioned mockingly. "Oh, I don't think so, do you? You've done quite a number on that particular- What do you call them? Companion? But still she stays, hoping for a pat on the head and kind word like a good little dog. Not so different from K-9, is she? But then, are any of them? They're all interchangeable, replaceable pets."

"What do you want?" the Doctor demanded over the sound of Amy's annoyed protest at the comparison.

"Who, me? I just want you to admit the truth. See, you like to play at being the hero, but you and me, we know better. You're nothing of the sort, and I, for one, think it's high time you showed your true colors. Clear the air. You'll feel better, _really_," he purred. "Get it all out in the open. Stop pretending. But I can see that you aren't going to make it easy." He sighed with false disappointment. "Lying to even yourself, aren't you. That's all right. If you can't admit the truth, I'll just have to prove it." And with that a wicked grin split his face. He waved his long fingers in farewell and the sound of chirping birds filled the air. Inescapable exhaustion flooded Viera's limbs and she felt herself falling, only half-aware of the others collapsing around her.

* * *

><p>AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well I did warn you it might be awhile. ORL I'm still really sorry that this chapter took so long, but I have other projects going and it will continue to be slow. But really I want to say <strong><em>thank<em>** _**you**_to everyone who added this story and especially the reviewers; you kept reminding me that this needed finishing. It would have taken me even longer without you.


	28. 15:3 Bluebird

Supplemental Soundtrack:

**The Ruins: "The Takeover" by James Dooley**

* * *

><p>PART FIFTEEN – THE DREAMLORD<p>

Chapter Three – Bluebird

_(Setting: Jungle Ruins)_

They climbed to their feet from the floor of the TARDIS. Viera pressed hand to her head, warding off a headache as her mind tried to catch up to reality.

"Okay," Rory spoke up. "Did anyone else just have a really _bizarre _dream?"

"With a man who looked like a black and white movie villain? Yeah," Amy grumbled. "He called us pets. Who does he think he is? Stupid – curly-mustache man-"

"So... we're dreaming, right?" Rory shifted a little uncomfortably and gave a soft laugh that sounded more like he wanted to find it funny than that he actually did. "I mean, this far in the future, Amy and I wouldn't still be here."

Viera felt a pang of worry, remembering her disappointment when she woke up as just a companion and not the Doctor's wife. "But the Dream Lord was _there_. Doesn't it make more sense that he'd show up in the world where we were dreaming?"

"Hold on," Amy interrupted, turning on Rory with her hands on her hips. "What do you mean we wouldn't still be here? Where else would we be?"

"Oh, I don't know- home?" Rory's own voice was turning a little incredulous. "We'd get a house, settle down. Maybe in upper Leadworth, if I pass my exams and get that job at the hospital. You can't want to stay here forever."

"You want me to give up _this_? For Leadworth?"

"All right, you lot!" the Doctor interrupted. "Take the domestics outside, please. I think the best way to figure all this out is to go exploring. Strange new world and all. Maybe we'll figure out where this Dream Lord fellow came from and what he really wants." He shooed the Ponds out in something of a huff then turned to Viera, offering his hand and a grin.

"Coming, Viera?"

She took his hand but planted her feet, searching his eyes. "Do _you _think this is real? That we're married and happy and not just-"

He cut her off with a long kiss. When they broke apart so she could catch her breath, he rested his forehead on hers.

"I don't know," he stated honestly, not willing to sugarcoat something like that. "But I hope so. It _feels_ real. _This_ feels real." He stroked his thumb across her cheek, his palm against his jaw.

"Now is not the time to be snogging in the console room," Amy hollered from outside.

The Doctor rolled his eyes with a faintly amused grin that Viera tried to match. She snuck one last kiss before following him outside, hand in hand. Her mind was still whirling with worry and hope, but she was distracted from her thoughts as they stepped out of the TARDIS' protective shield and hit a wall of humidity.

"Geez," she muttered, wrinkling her nose a little as the moisture and heat in the air clung to her skin. Every breath felt heavy and thick. They had hardly taken five steps and she already felt sticky. It was probably just as well that Saxon had elected to stay behind on their last trip; she didn't think the cat would enjoy the humidity.

"'S a bit like walking into a sauna, isn't it?" Amy complained, noticing her grimace. "Makes me wish I'd thought to change into a bikini."

"Definitely too many clothes," Viera agreed though she wasn't certain she'd be any more comfortable parading around a strange forest in nothing but a swimsuit. Knowing their luck they'd be captured, and she really preferred to be wearing as many layers as possible when that happened.

"Oh, it's not so bad," the Doctor mused, looking around and using the sonic to test the air. She gave him an amused look and wondered how long he'd stay upbeat in that suit of his. She was already shrugging out of her jacket.

A familiar chirp wiped the smile from her face. It was brief and it didn't come with the heavy, irresistible exhaustion of before, but a shiver still crawled down Viera's spine when she turned and saw the little blue bird watching them with intent, dark eyes. It was a little too wide and a little too flat for an Earth species, but the swirling patterns of black on its bright blue feathers still seemed vaguely familiar.

"What do we do now?" she heard Rory ask behind her; somehow he managed to sound as hot and sweaty and miserable as he'd looked.

"Why don't we ask him?" the Doctor offered, stepping up beside Viera. She glanced over and, despite her unease, felt a flare of affection for the child-like grin burgeoning on his expressive face. "Well now, aren't you a beauty? Who's a clever birdy?" the Doctor cooed, inching forward. Behind his back Amy rolled her eyes. "Know more than you're letting on, don't you. Why don't you let us in on the secret, hmm?"

"Great, we're taking advice from the birds now," Rory muttered.

The bird turned a bright eye on Rory with a suddenness that made him jump. Then it twittered its sharp little tune and took off into the jungle, little more than a flash of blue among the leaves.

"After it!" the Doctor shouted, pointing towards the barely discernible path before flinging himself into the threes.

Amy groaned and Rory muttered an "unbelievable", but all three of them chased after the Doctor. Viera's unease teetered on the edge of foreboding. She usually loved the woods, blue skies and green growth; apparently she'd found the exception to the rule.

"I'm not- sure this- is a good idea," she called between scrambling over the raised roots and underbrush that were encroaching on what was more and more obviously an old twisted path. The small piece of her mind not occupied with keeping her from falling on her face wondered who'd built it and what had happened to them. Running in the damp heat, Viera wasn't sure she was keeping up enough that the Doctor could hear her; she was only catching glimpses of his brown coat between the trees.

"Doctor, wait-" He disappeared in the thick mess of green foliage and the three humans were left to follow the unkept trail in hopes that he'd stayed on it. Then they rounded a corner and Viera plowed into his back. There was a startled yelp and a curse as Amy and Rory ran into her in turn. They all would have tumbled to the ground if the Doctor hadn't somehow managed to keep his balance.

"What was that for?" the Doctor asked, concern rather than irritation trickling beneath the amusement in his voice.

"Sorry," Viera gasped, still clinging to the back of his coat as she waited for her heart and lungs to slow back down to normal conditions.

"Well if you wouldn't stop in the middle of the road-!" Amy protested.

"Or take off after unusual birds without so much as a discussion," Viera murmured, finally untangling her fingers and taking a step back so she could see more than just brown fabric.

"He was getting away."

"I think he wanted us to follow," she countered as she took in their surroundings at last. Stone tiles stretched across the ground as far as she could see, bearing shadows cast by the half-crumbled walls of what must have once been an immense building. The vivid greens of the jungle wove across the grey stones in the form of vines and grass growing through the cracks.

"He's just a bird," Rory muttered.

"What makes you say that?" the Doctor asked.

Viera turned from her study of the tarnished markings carved into the nearest stones – which obviously decoration rather than words since the TARDIS wasn't translating them, though she couldn't shake the feeling they were supposed to mean something – to find his gaze on her rather than Rory.

"The bird," the Doctor prompted when she blinked at him. There was no disbelief in his voice, only curious deliberation. All things considered, a bit of paranoia was probably healthy for their life style. "You don't like it. Why? You usually love the small-and-fuzzies."

"Dunno," Viera murmured with a shrug; her face scrunched up as she tried to pinpoint the root of her unease. "The Dream Lord's use of birdsong? Maybe the bird is part of the problem."

A soft, melodic twitter turned their attention to the bright little bird watching them from atop a broken pillar. It peered at them a moment longer, then winged its way further into the ruins and disappeared behind the stones with a beckoning trill.

"Only one way to find out," the Doctor decided. He flashed an encouraging grin and offered a hand and despite her vague apprehension Viera didn't hesitate to take it.

"Just once I'd like to see a hint of danger and run the _other_ way," Rory sighed as they all followed the bird at a brisk pace.

"And were would be the fun in that?" Amy countered perkily.

Rory didn't get the chance to argue. There was a brief screech of rusty metal grinding against stone. It echoed through the cracked floor beneath them, making it impossible to pinpoint its origin let alone run from it. Then a crack opened up at Rory's feet and he stumbled back with a yelp as a trio of toothpick-sized darts shot from the open ground. Two hit crumbling wall behind him but the third buried itself deep into Rory's leg.

A startled curse slipped from Amy's lips as she steadied her injured fiancé, but tiny cracks were opening up all over the place and they didn't have time to feel anything more than alarm.

"Run!" the Doctor shouted, snatching up Viera's hand and yanking her out of the way as a spray of darts shot through the air where she'd been standing. Then they were running; adrenaline flooded Viera's veins, and she could barely hear the clatter of darts hitting stone around them over the pounding of her heart. They sprinted out of the room and down the remnants of a long hallways as fast as their feet could take them. Viera kept her free arm raised near her head and ducked, hoping that she could at least avoid taking a dart to the face. She didn't look back but she could hear Amy shouting at Rory to move faster right behind them.

That hallway seemed to go on forever. It sounded like the darts were right on their heels and Viera expected to be riddled with needles at any second. As they reached the end of the hall at last, her foot caught against the uneven stones and Viera tipped, arms flailing, absolutely certain that she was about to be a pin cushion. She might have been if the Doctor hadn't still had ahold of her hand. He jerked on her arm and Viera's fall swung to one side, tumbling her into her husband's warm arms just around the corner. The darts stopped flying, apparently confined to the long hallway and the room beyond. They stood just a moment in their impromptu embrace, the Doctor's hearts racing beneath Viera's ear. She heard a pair of dull thumps and muttered complaints as Amy and Rory stumbled into the safety of their narrow hallway and slumped against the wall across from them.

"You all right?" he asked, pushing her away with his hands on her shoulders and turning her from side to side to get a better look at her. "Did any of them hit you?"

Viera shook her head, hazel eyes scanning him for the same injuries. "I'm fine." Their worried gazes met for just a moment, then the Doctor gave her a slight, accepting nod and they both turned to the couple behind them. Viera's heart sank. They were all breathing a little hard, Time Lord aside, but Rory was gasping more than he ought to be and he'd slid to the floor against the wall. Amy knelt at his side, worry clear in the grip her fingers had on his shirt and the clench of her jaw.

"Amy?" the Doctor asked though his eyes were on Rory as he crouched next to them.

"Fine. I'm quick on my feet," she replied archly, trying to cover her concern with teasing.

"Told you – we should have – gone the oth – other way," Rory complained breathlessly. He'd gone rather pale and the thin sheen of sweat on his face worried Viera. She stayed standing, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she watched the Doctor examine the spot where he'd been hit. There was very little blood on Rory's trousers, which she supposed was a good sign, but then darts usually made her think of poison and the lack of blood loss wouldn't really matter in that case.

"Well, you wanted running," Amy pointed out. "We ran."

"Yeah, not quite what I had in mind," Rory murmured, finally starting to catch his breath though that did little to help his pallor. A groan hissed through his teeth as the Doctor prodded a bit too close to the wound then scanned it with his screwdriver.

"Well, the good news is that the dart is gone so we don't have to dig it out," the Doctor stated pleasantly. The only sign of his concern was the slight strain around his eyes.

"Great," Rory sighed, more or less taking it all in stride though he couldn't hide his own worry quite so well. "And what's the bad news?"

"The dart has now dissolved into your blood steam," he replied with a sympathetic little grimace. "Probably poison. We might want to consider returning to the TARDIS."


End file.
